The Truth Is
by RubberSoulRevolver
Summary: AU - Jesse is adopted. this is how he connects to his bio-dad. Jesse centric... although heavy on the St.Berry love.
1. Adopted

Jesse St. James knew the truth, even if his parents still liked to pretend that he didn't and they were good at it – hey he had to get his acting chops from somewhere.

When Jesse was 12 they had sat down and had a rational conversation about Jesse's adoption, he was the one who brought it up. His parents were surprised that he had figured it out; he explained it using genetic traits - everyone in his family is natural blondes with brown eyes, he has brown hair and blue eyes - and his parents were proud of intelligence and knew that they owed that kind of intelligence the truth. After that family discussion the topic of his biological parents was not brought up again. Internally Jesse knew that this revelation would be a perfect chapter in the memoir of his life. It would humanize him to all those who would read his story once he became a star.

Except for once, when Jesse was a freshmen. He calmly asked his mom if she knew who his biological parents were. She had paled when he had asked, before sitting him down in the living room and telling him that his mother had been a 16 year old Carmel student, who moved to Washington with her family after giving birth. His mom told him that she didn't know who his biological father was as the girl gave them no name; just that he was a singer. Jesse's mom told him that's where he got his voice from, both his biological parents were in show choirs, and his parents thought that to nurture that talent Jesse would have singing lessons and would one day wow the world with his voice.

After that conversation with his mom Jesse had researched. He looked through Carmel yearbooks and he asked a few teachers if they remembered a pregnant girl who was a student back in '92/'93. He finally was given an answer by his math teacher who told him the name of his biological mother. That night he had Googled the name and what he discovered made him break down at the computer. He read that his bio-mom had been killed in a car accident and though Jesse had never even known this woman, her death brought him to tears. It was that emotion – anger, for never knowing his bio-mom and sadness at her passing – that got Jesse a solo spot in Vocal Adrenalin as a freshman.

From that point on Jesse rarely thought on the fact that he was adopted. He had everything he needed, he was happy and he loved his parents. They supported his dreams to be a star; vocal lessons, dance lessons, acting classes, anything really and in return Jesse made them proud with good grades and with unwavering determination. In fact had Jesse not been adopted he probably wouldn't have half the talent he does now, and a much smaller ego (which in most cases was a show for strangers, Jesse was really more laid back and a goofball away from the demands of school and Vocal Adrenalin).

Though some days all Jesse thought about was his biological parents. He used the emotions that being adopted gave him to become characters, to work on his acting. It was on those days that he would returned to the book marked tabs on his browser and try to find information on his bio-dad. So far he had been unsuccessful, three years and nothing on the mysterious show-choir member dad. That was until Jesse decided that maybe his coach Shelby would know, she had been around during that time and the world of show-choir was small. Through a few of her connections Jesse found out the truth about his biological father.

So yeah Jesse St. James knows the truth about who his "father" is, what he doesn't know is how that truth is going to change his life.


	2. Music Store

**So I don't own Glee. This is Fiction. I don't know anything about adoption, so i'm sorry if i offend anyone or get stuff completely wrong.  
It wasn't that hard to figure out who the "father" is, but i have some good ideas for how its going to come out in the story.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and favouriting or alerting.  
Cheers.**

Sometimes Jesse curses the fact that he can sing so well. Mostly on days when Shelby drills the team over and over and berates their performances, while simultaneously praising Jesse. Those days his team mates hate him; they whisper (not always) insults, they glare at him and more than once he has found his clothes in a pile under a running shower. On those days, just for a brief moment, he wishes he was just an average kid whose main goal was to graduate. Those are also the days he thinks about his biological father.

William Schuester, Jesse Schuester. Jesse thinks the name of his father and what his name might be on those bad days. It's the kind of plain name he would have had if he wasn't destined to become a star. Because Jesse Schuester didn't roll off the tongue like Jesse St. James, nor did it have the same kind of star quality. Along with his potential name he thinks about Will Schuester the former McKinley male soloist and the current Spanish teacher. He thinks how his father could have made it to Broadway if he had been a little more popular, selfish and driven, rather than settle for his popular, cheerleading high school sweetheart and being a teacher. It's when these thoughts cross his mind that Jesse attempts to drive over to McKinley and work up the nerve to find Will Schuester and tell him the truth. He never makes it, so like always he finds himself in a book store specializing in all things music, movies, TV and Broadway.

That's where Jesse St. James is when the wheels are set in motion for his life to change.

Glee#Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee# Glee#

Jesse is flipping through a Beatles biography in the book store. He's in the middle of reading a paragraph on the way George and John would sometimes play the media to their advantage, when the bell above the door takes his focus. He glances up and sees Rachel Berry enter and walk over to a pile of music books. Jesse remembers her from her beautiful, but slightly lacking performance at sectionals. That's the only thing he really remembers from that day. He had been so nervous sitting in that crowd, looking through the audience for one glimpse of the man who created him that he zoned out most of the other performances, until Rachel's voice broke through the back of the auditorium and his focus from then was solely on her. He knows that he has to meet her, if not for her talent but for her connection to his father.

Jesse walks over and surprises Rachel, who is speechless that the star of Vocal Adrenalin is willingly talking to her. The image of Rachel, someone with powerful stage presence, so nervous around Jesse burns into his mind and he knows that if he and Rachel were to ever have any kind of relationship this first meeting would make an excellent story. Jesse gives Rachel one of his reasons for why he goes to the book store, he couldn't tell her the real reason why it's that particular store and not the one in his district, and Rachel smiles understandingly like she sometimes does the same thing in her spare time.

After his first slightly insulting comment he thought that if he really is going to judge her performances he should hear another so he glances at the piano and then Rachel before saying,

"What d'you say we take it for a spin."

"Here? N-nn I'm kind of nervous." Rachel stammers out and Jesse stops himself from letting out a chuckle.

"I remember when I used to get nervous." Jesse says with false bravado because he got nervous that after noon on the way to her school, for what would be one of the big moments of his life.

"Come on I do this all the time." He encourages her. Rachel gives him a slight nod and Jesse starts playing.

His voice breaks through the din of the store and soon the only sound is the piano and his singing. That's something Jesse prides himself on; he can silence a room with the tiniest hint of a song. Rachel's sees the confidence in Jesse and throws her voice into the mix. Rachel wasn't nervous because she would be performing in front of strangers, with all her years of being in dancing recitals and plays she was used to public performance. Her nerves were only because she would be performing with the most naturally talented teenager in the state and his approval would mean more to her than any applause.

Jesse's eyes seem to convey the smile that he isn't showing as he sings; he knows this because Rachel gives him a grin in return as she waits to sing again. Their two voices coming together just seem natural as if they had been waiting for each other to sing with. The song ends too quickly for both of them and they are met with a round of applause. Both teens smile at the customers and before Jesse can censor his thoughts he asks Rachel out.

"We should do this more often. How's Friday night?"

Rachel gives him a coy smile and nods her head. She is still too stunned to speak. If anyone from the glee club had seen her this way they would have thought that she lost her voice or her soul had been replaced by some mute being, because normally it was impossible to get Rachel Berry to stop talking. Rachel pushes the thoughts of what others think of her out of her head and finds a voice to finally say something.

"That was amazing and really freeing. I've never really thought of doing that just randomly."

"Well you should do it more often because you do have the voice for it." Jesse compliments Rachel as they leave the store. She completely forgot her reason for being there anyways.

"Thanks. So Friday night?"

"Yeah, can I get your address so I can pick you up?"

"Sure," Rachel says pulling out a scrap of paper from her purse and writing down the address "What are we going to be doing? Just so I don't over dress or under dress."

Jesse looks at he reddish-brown skirt and black bow print t-shirt, it's cute if a little childish, though the skirt is very short showing off toned legs. "Similar to what you're wearing now would be fine."

Jesse helps Rachel into her car and offers a wave as she pulls away from him. The smile on his face is genuine and he was right that she does have talent and maybe working with him he can give her some of the emotional depth that she had been lacking. Jesse thinks that maybe chickening out and not going to McKinley was fate or maybe Jesse should succumb to his nerves more often because this time it paid off.


	3. A Date

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the alerts. Love It.  
There is somethings about this chapter that will prob be OOC so i apologize, i'm not sure what my grasp of Rachel is yet. Also i kind of struggled getting this one out. The next chapter hopefully will progress the story a little faster and set up some of the drama.**

Jesse knows that he won't be able to keep the secret of who his father is for too much longer, well keep it from Shelby he means. No one else that he knew would really care about that information, but Shelby would. He knows that once she got that information she would use it to her advantage, hold it over him or even get him to do something that he wouldn't want to do.

Jesse puts these thoughts out of his mind as he walks up the path to Rachel's front door. That thought is quickly replaced with the debate over why he's really taking Rachel out. He wonders if it is because she is really the only person that gives him a connection to Will Schuester, his father, OR is it because she has more talent and drive than any other teenage girl he's met and he knows he's attracted to that. This debate has been going on since Jesse had asked Rachel out and now standing outside her door he decides that it is a little bit of both and depending on how the night goes he will come to a decision as to what side of he'll come down on.

Jesse's raising his hand to knock on the door, as it's pulled open and Rachel nearly runs into Jesse. His arm steadies her and both share a little chuckle over Jesse's comment about Rachel being a little eager.

"Sorry." Rachel apologizes, "I heard your car and I thought I would save you the trouble of coming up to the door. I guess my attempts to save you the trouble were kind of useless." She finishes lamely, her cheeks glowing pink.

"Its fine Rachel," Jesse responds, smiling. "Let's go, I have something I want to show you."

"Ok. I'm dressed fine, right?" Rachel asks smoothing down the front of her outfit.

Jesse takes a step back to look at Rachel's clothes. She's wearing a blue cotton skirt, a white t-shirt and a navy vest. Jesse licks his lips. The skirt shows off Rachel's legs and the image of those legs wrapped around his waist firmly plants itself in his brain. Rachel looks up at him with expectant eyes and he tells her that she looks beautiful. That comment makes Rachel's face light up and she can't stop her grin.

The drive to where Jesse is taking them is filled with singing and surreptitious glances at each other. When Jesse pulls his car outside of the Lima Community Theatre, Rachel gives Jesse a confused look. She knows that there isn't a show being put on, nor are there any preparations for a new show.

"Why are we here?" Rachel asks and Jesse just gives her a smirk.

"Come on." He says extending his hand.

Jesse's smile brightens as Rachel's warm palm finds his. He had done nothing but think about Rachel since Wednesday afternoon. Well if he was being honest he had looked up her on MySpace and watched her posted performances, they were good but could not compare to seeing Rachel perform live. And what they are doing at the community theatre is going to give Jesse another chance to see Rachel sing.

Jesse leads Rachel past the main foyer and into the auditorium. Up on the stage is a group of elementary school kids, some going through vocal warm-ups others over some dance steps, All focused and all talented. Rachel feels Jesse drop her hand as he makes his way onto the stage and she is left standing in the aisle.

"Hey everyone," Jesse says and the kids all stop and face him.

"Finally," a one of the boys says. "We were just warming up so that we can start right away."

Jesse nods and smiles at the kids. This is his way of giving back and he knows that the work that he has put in with this small choir will pay off; both in making him look like a kind and giving person when he becomes a star and hopefully get him some more consideration at NYU.

"Ok, do you think you can put on a show for my friend?" Jesse asks, pointing to Rachel, who offers the group a wave.

The kids form two staggered lines and Jesse jumps off the stage and walks down to Rachel. He guides her into a row and tells her to sit before counting the group in. Immediately the group breaks into '_Seasons of Love'_ from Rent. Jesse settles in next to Rachel and watches her reaction to the performance, as well as mentally noting areas that need to be worked on. Rachel looks at the performance with awe and a little envy, she wishes that she had had a group like this, a group that was passionate and that all seems to have the same goals.

The voices of the small group are strong, practiced and even. They know what they want and have one of the best teachers, which Jesse knows helps with their confidence and with creating the next generation of triple threat stars. The song ends, but before Rachel can comment music fills the speakers and the group starts spinning and dancing as they sing Mika's '_We are Golden._' Rachel is even more impressed with this number as the kids are dancing, but there is not drop in song volume. Rachel gives Jesse an appraising look, he's clearly taught them how to sing and dance without losing the integrity of one or the other. Jesse gives Rachel a smile and turns to watch the kids. This number he makes a few more notes about because there are still a few weaknesses and a few staging changes that have to be made before it will be perfect.

With a last, strong "We are Golden!" The group stops and both Rachel and Jesse stand and give a round of applause. Jesse's moving out of the aisle and heading back to the stage steps, when he motions for Rachel to come join him, Rachel smiles and rushes over to the stage. He knows that he can use her talents in helping teach the next performance to the kids. The group gathers around Jesse, while all shooting questioning looks at Rachel. Jesse pulls Rachel forward and introduces her to the group; he says that she might be able to help with the group's final number for the Ohio Kids Show Choir Competition, as she is the best female vocalist in Ohio.

"I'm not sure—" Rachel stammers out, after hearing that she is going to be helping.

"Don't worry about it, they know the song. You can help out with some of the solo work that needs a little work."

"Ok fine. What's the song?"

"Hey Jude, a cappella. I figured a classic Beatles song is the best and it fits the Ballad requirement, plus I love The Beatles more than any other band." Jesse says. It's not the only reason he chose that song, he had always loved it and after finding out about being adopted some of the songs lyrics took on new meanings and he would listen to it for strength.

"Let's do a run through before we do individual work. Chris you have the first part of the solo, Lindsay join in at the third verse and then the fifth, everyone else join in at the end." Jesse says, "Let's start with everyone sitting on the steps except Chris, you're centre stage."

After positioning the kids in the best way, Jesse walks to the side of the stage before nodding for Chris to start. Rachel stands next to Jesse and he tells her to listen to the singing and make notes on anything that needs to be improved. Chris starts and his voice rings out clear, soon Lindsay joins and soon the song is finished. Again the group gets a round of applause before Jesse and Rachel come over with their constructive criticism. Jesse tells both Chris and Lindsay that they need to bring the emotion to the song, the feeling that they are telling someone else to be strong while at the same time taking that message to heart.

As Jesse explains the feelings of the song to the kids Rachel watches his face, his hands, just everything. She can see in the way that he is detailing what words to emphasize and emote on, there is something more to this song than just being another Beatles song. She wants to question him about it, but she'll bite her tongue on that, going against everything that is her personality, to keep him around maybe a little longer than Finn. She's pulled out of her reverie when she hears Jesse ask if there is anything that she would like to add. Rachel just says that there is one section of the Lindsay's solo that needs to be strengthened as the note went a little off.

Jesse knows that Rachel is right on that, but he is a little angry that he missed something so obvious. He had been too focused on the kids getting the feeling of the lyrics and emotion behind the performance that he spaced on singing. This wasn't Jesse St. James, this was Jesse. For a minute he regrets giving the group his song, before putting the thought out of his head.

"Well now that we know what to focus on for the singing. Joel, can you come up with some choreography that could work for the end for next week?" Jesse asks and Joel nods. "Ok seeing as this practice turned into a performance, I'll let you all go early. But next week, we're training hard, no excuses."

The group all nod before rushing out of the auditorium to the freedom of the rest of their Friday night. Rachel watches them go before turning to Jesse with a grin on her face, which he returns.

"Is that what you wanted to show me?"

"Yeah, they are my future Vocal Adrenaline replacements and they are my way of giving back."

"I thought you said you put on concerts for the homeless?"

"I do, but that doesn't look as good on college applications to NYU."

"NYU? I thought you have a full ride to UCLA?"

"I do and I'm lucky I have it, but it's my fall back. I'm waiting to see if I get in at NYU. I figure there I can work my way onto Broadway and then head out to LA after a couple years. I mean I want to be on Broadway, I want the hard work, and I want the reaction from the crowd, the applause more than I want the instant fame from Hollywood." Jesse says, watching Rachel's expression on her face return to one of awe.

It's something he's used to, but on Rachel's face there is also understanding. The understanding of having a set goal for the future and doing anything to achieve it, and the understanding that getting the popularity from Hollywood is nothing compared to the payoff that a successful Broadway career would bring. Jesse feels the urge to kiss Rachel in that moment, knowing that she feels the same, instead he takes her hand and leads her to the centre of the stage.

"Sing with me again?" He asks.

In response Rachel starts singing _Somewhere Out There_. Jesse smiles and joins in on his verse. The pair of them spend another hour in the auditorium singing duets or solos from a range of musical genres. They also talk about musical tastes; Rachel finds out that Jesse loves The Beatles because in their short time as a group they created an extensive catalogue of songs, each touching on different emotions. Jesse learns that one of Rachel's guilty pleasure CDs is Aqua's _Aquarium_. After a few more performances, including a hilarious mocking of _Barbie Girl_, Jesse says that it's time to lock up.

On the way out of the door Rachel bumps into Jesse and she ducks her head. Jesse can't help but think that Rachel looking a little embarrassed is something very cute. To make her feel better he intertwines his fingers with hers as they walk to his car. Rachel looks up at Jesse's profile and wonders how she could be so lucky to get a guy like Jesse.

After dropping Rachel off at her front door, with a chaste goodbye kiss that he wanted to deepen, he wanted to taste her but he held back not want to push her too hard. So after dropping Rachel at home Jesse decides that being with Rachel is not just to get to his father, he genuinely likes her and wants to spend more time with her and for his sake he hopes that she feels the same way.

The rest of the weekend passes in calm happiness. Jesse sends Rachel a text late Saturday practically Sunday morning, he figures that she is the kind of girl that will freak out and overanalyze the fact that a guy hasn't responded after what was a good date, so he skips his standard 3-day rule and sends her a message that saying he enjoyed Friday night and that they should do it again. Rachel responds on Sunday with "It's a date" and Jesse can't stop his grin. Jesse is perfectly happy and ignores the feeling that anything could go wrong. He shouldn't have done that because Monday is where it starts to go to hell.


	4. The Plan

Rachel wakes each morning with a song in her head and that usually dictates what the day is going to be like. Monday morning it wasn't one song; it was a medley of love songs, upbeat songs and completely happy songs. She smiles before jumping out of bed and starting her morning routine, all of which seems to fly by as Rachel thinks of Jesse. Not only had Rachel had an amazing time with him on Friday, she had been able to connect with him on a different level than when she had gone bowling with Finn and he took her somewhere that was an interest to both of them not just one of them. She also didn't have the chance to get all paranoid about Jesse never talking to her again because he had texted her to set up another date. Jesse was up front about what he wanted and even though they only had 'first date' conversations he was more direct and talked about topics other than where pepperoni was imported from, which was something Rachel had been looking for even though she hadn't known it herself.

Rachel's happy feeling from that morning lasts only until lunch when she is cornered by Tina, Artie, Mercedes and Kurt. She had been going off her high from the weekend and from her finally being strong and telling Finn that she moved on. The group tells her she has to ditch St. James and Rachel realizes that Jesse might just be a lost cause, so she tells them that she will break up with Jesse. She doesn't want to ruin her chances at having some kind of group of friends, even if they are less talented and clearly care very little about her feelings. After agreeing with the group, Rachel leaves the choir room and runs straight to the washroom. She bumps into Mr. Schuester and tells him that he won't have to worry about her betraying the team as she is going to be breaking up with Jesse. After run in with the teacher she finally makes it into the washroom. She doesn't cry, she calms herself down so that she won't find Finn and kill him, she knows he was the one who told as no one else knew about Jesse and no one else at the school would care enough to talk about her personal life. On her way out of the bathroom Rachel bumps into Brittany.

"Coach Sylvester wants to see you." She says, before wandering off down the hall humming an incomprehensible tune.

Rachel watches Brittany's retreating form and wonders what Sue Sylvester would want with her. After finding out what Sue had called her in for the sadness that Rachel felt in being told to dump Jesse quickly turns to fear. A fear that she will end up alone and that spurs her into action, an action that the rest of club is going to hate her for, but Rachel knows that she would rather take their anger than their false friendship because she's the club's star. She calls a cab and makes her way over to Carmel

*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

When Will Schuester woke up this morning he never thought his day would lead him getting involved in the love lives of his students. Although he liked the fact that the students were willing to talk to him and that they respected him enough to want to share their lives, he sometimes wished that they would keep their teenage dramas amongst themselves. However he saw how freaked out Finn had been over hearing that Rachel was getting a little too friendly with the lead of Vocal Adrenaline that he figures he should check it out. That's how he finds himself at Carmel during their lunch hour run through.

He watches as the male lead takes command of the stage, he's drawn into the performance. He sees that Jesse St. James has the charm and the talent to captivate an entire audience and in that moment Will wishes that his own Glee club had the same precision. As the number goes on Will walks further down the aisle and watches Jesse, he sees something familiar about the boy, something in his face but he can't place it. He also sees the potential that Jesse has to be a star, it's the same thing he sees in Rachel, raw talent that has been sculpted into the perfection that it should be. The number ends and Will is floored by the fire and the level of performance that he whispers out a wow. He watches as the group gets dismissed from the stage before he approaches Shelby Corcoran.

Shelby looks up at the person addressing her, she thinks for a moment its Jesse with curlier hair, but she quickly realizes its not. The man introduces himself as Will Schuester and tells her that her male lead is dating his female lead and isn't that a little suspicious. She assures Will that Jesse is a good kid and that Vocal Adrenaline does not resort to cheating to win. The group's performance and skills speak for themselves; there is no need to cheat.

"Is that the only reason you came? To see if I sent my lead vocalist to spy on your group?" Shelby asks as she and Will leave the auditorium.

"Yeah, pretty much. A few of the other students in the group were a little suspicious and I guess they made it seem that what was going on was a lot worse than reality." Will answers.

"Well it's bound to happen. High school jealousies and relationships go hand in hand, but as I said before Jesse is a good kid and I'm sure this Rachel is a smart girl. So let them be kids, let them see where this goes and we'll both be vigilant about the cheating." Shelby says to Will as they stand by the doors to the parking lot.

Will agrees and thanks Shelby for meeting with him, as they both walk to their cars. He's reassured that he made the right decision to come to Carmel and he's resolved in his decision to not do anything about Rachel and Jesse, just make sure that there is no cheating going on. That's why when Will runs into Rachel on his way back to his office he is floored when she tells him that he will hear the rumours that she is dating the lead of Vocal Adrenaline, but that is no longer the case as she is going to end it for the team. Before Will can say that he was never worried and that she should be allowed to date whoever she wants Rachel is gone from the hallway.

*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

After grabbing the remote for the stage lights from Shelby's office Jesse walks through the silent halls of Carmel. It's his favourite time of day fourth period spare, everyone's in class and he uses his free class to work on his vocals or performances for Vocal Adrenalin and no one disturbs him in the auditorium. Mondays are even better because VA doesn't have after school rehearsals so Jesse can stay on his own for as long as he wants. He usually stays well into the evening, especially during the winter because sometimes he hates going home to an empty house, there's too much silence. Not the good silence of an auditorium as you imagine an audience on the edge of their seats waiting for your performance, but the lonely silence that mocks you with the fact that there is no one there. That's why from November to March Jesse can be found staying late after school on non-rehearsal days or at his uncle's, where the sounds of his cousins playing Rockband or talking prove he's not really alone.

Jesse can hear the final bell ring through the music blaring from his headphones. He's running through the dance routine of an old invitational performance, it's something he does in between practicing the new numbers, a way to find steps that might fit better or flow with the number better. He's in the middle of a double turn when he hears the squeaking of the auditorium door opening. Not wanting to get caught dancing alone of stage Jesse runs off into the wings to wait for the intruder to leave. It's not that he's shy and he knows he won't be insulted; he just doesn't want to have to deal with younger members of VA asking him for dancing and singing advice. He watches from the wings as Rachel nervously walks across the stage calling out his name. He wants to step out and go to her, but he wants to see what she will do if he shines a light on her.

"I carry a rape whistle." Rachel calls out to the darkened auditorium. It's freaking her out that there is someone in the shadows watching her.

The reaction isn't what Jesse wanted but he laughs at how perfectly Rachel it seems and he knows that it's time to come out from the dark.

"It's just me," he says leaning against the wall, acting all cool. He spouts off some random facts about the spotlight, trying to distract himself from how brilliant Rachel seems under the spot. He's about to ask why she came to visit him when she cuts him off with a rapid fire speech that seems almost rehearsed, but delivered with an unpractised air.

"I have to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth, because if you don't, there will be consequences. Life and death consequences, because if i give myself to you and it turns out that you're just playing me, I might die. Not literally, but emotionally. It'll be the kind of heartbreak that girls like me hold for the rest of their lives, like Barbra in _The Way We Were._"

Rachel's face is so earnest that Jesse can't help but let out a chuckle. Rachel feels her stomach drop out. She's panicking that she said too much and Jesse is going to bolt. Jesse can see the emotions flash across her face and he immediately soothes them by mocking himself and then reintroducing himself and telling her honestly that he likes her and won't hurt her.

Rachel lets out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding and falls into Jesse's embrace. Jesse loves the warm feeling of Rachel in his arms; he tilts her head up and catches her lips in a kiss. He feels that if this were being performed in front of an audience there would be a few 'awws' from the crowd. The thoughts though are banished as he feels Rachel's warm tongue brush into his mouth and trace the back of his teeth, before she pulls it back. He was not expecting that and he slowly breaks the kiss.

"Wow," is all he can say to the kiss and Rachel gives him a coy smile. "Hey you want to grab dinner? You can tell me about your day and what brought on the theatrics."

"Sounds perfect," Rachel responds, slipping her hand into Jesse's as he escorts her out of the auditorium.

*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

Jesse sits on the stage after a tiring Tuesday afternoon rehearsal, where once again he was singled out by Shelby. He's waiting for the change room to mostly empty out so he doesn't have to hear the snide comments about how he must be screwing Shelby and that's why he has the solos and why she is usually praising him. What they don't know is that for all the praise there is just as much criticism, but she usually reserves that for when Jesse is alone. So he sits kicking his heel against the stage front and thinks about Rachel had told him last night about her glee club's ultimatum and why they had to keep their relationship secret.

Jesse wonders how some people could be so cruel. Granted he isn't the kindest person in the world and yeah his fellow VA members may throw insults towards him and he does the same thing back, but they would never be so outright cruel because in the end they all do like each other and are a team. He also doesn't understand how Rachel could be so forgiving after all their cruelty and still want to attempt to be their friend, he hopes that one day she will use that resolve when she has to audition for Broadway musicals. Jesse also wonders how Will Schuester could let this go on, how could a teacher care more for winning and the protecting the team, than for the feelings of a girl. Especially the girl who is their star.

He's contemplating these things and if he really wants to meet a father who let's people get treated in this way when he hears Shelby walk up behind him. Jesse immediately straightens his posture and waits for her to speak.

"What's this I hear about you dating some girl from a rival show choir?" She asks icily.

Jesse turns his head to look at his coach; he sees the glint in her eye that says she has something planned and that it can only end badly for him. Jesse feels his stomach drop at the look.

"Where did you hear that?" He asks.

"Her coach stopped by yesterday during our lunch rehearsal. I thought he was spying." Shelby says, "He wanted to see what kind of kid you were and if you dating this girl was just for nefarious reasons. I told him that you were a good kid and that I don't tolerate spying, but seriously Jesse you are brilliant."

Jesse looks confused, "How so?"

"Well clearly you are going to use this to get information about their set list, costumes and routines so we can crush them at Regional's."

"No!" Jesse says firmly without a second thought.

His quick forceful response stuns Shelby. She raises an eyebrow and gives him a smirk. It's the look people get when they know you've revealed too much and they can use that information to crush you. It's a look that freezes Jesse because he knows that he's revealing too much to Shelby.

"This girl must be something really special."

Jesse pauses with relief before responding to the comment. "What? Oh yeah, she's special."

Jesse's hesitation before his response intrigues Shelby, she knows there is something else and not just this girl that is stopping Jesse from spying. That's when it clicks in her head, the coach. No wonder he looked so familiar. She's going to use this to her advantage.

"No, not the girl. You've known her for what a week? There's more to it than that." Shelby drawls and panic settles in Jesse's eyes. "Their coach, Will Schuester I think? He's your father isn't he?"

The colour drains from Jesse's features and Shelby knows she's won and Jesse will do anything to keep this little secret.

"So if you don't want this news to go public, hurting you and your father, you'll do what I say. And if that isn't enough incentive to spy, I can always take away UCLA as well."

Jesse doesn't respond, doesn't nod or show any emotion on his face. He's thankful in that moment for some his acting lessons kick in, though they had been failing him minutes before. Shelby leaves him standing on the stage. Jesse doesn't know what to do. He's torn because he doesn't want to hurt Rachel, doesn't want to hurt his father and he wants to get the hell out of this state, which at the moment his single option is through UCLA. Jesse knows his life just got harder.


	5. Transfer

**Thanks to Everyone who has reviewed, favourited or put this story on alert, it means a lot to me to know that people are liking this.  
I hope that you stick with me, i've got the rest of the story mapped out and now it's just writing it.  
Very soon the truth will come out, but not all at once.  
Cheers - T.**

Jesse's confrontation with Shelby had been festering under the surface for the past two weeks. It was as if everywhere he turned he would see Shelby's face, taunting him and demanding he follow through with her plans. He's tried to get it out by spending all his free time at his uncle's and not at the school and by being with Rachel. She's so bubbly that when Jesse is with her he forgets that sometimes he made a promise to Shelby, but then she would talk about her club and he would store the information so that he could change it and tell Shelby some of what she wanted to hear. It was the best he could do because he didn't want to hurt Rachel and he definitely didn't want to hurt the chance that he had to meet and at least befriend his father.

Jesse never meant to pressure Rachel into sleeping with him, but he couldn't claim that he wasn't trying a little bit harder to get her to do it, if only so that he could experience some pleasure as to remove the vile feeling of guilt in stomach for a few hours. So when she rejected him not just once, but the second time on that Thursday night, after she said she was ready, he was angry and he snapped at her a little. Especially when she brought up how it would betray the team. He didn't mean to get snippy with Rachel but it seemed to him that the whole world was conspiring against him. Even as he was thinking these thoughts he knew he was being a huge drama queen.

"Why the fuck would you let your club interfere in your private life Rach? I don't get it; it shouldn't have anything to do with us." Jesse says angrily as he stands up from the bed.

"Well they are my friends and I care about what they think."

"You shouldn't, not after how they've treated you before." Jesse says and Rachel looks hurt. "Rachel your team should have no place in what we do together and especially not in your bedroom."

"Why are you getting so angry about this?"

"Because you are bringing the team into something that should just be ours, I would have understood if you had said you weren't ready again, but the team shouldn't be a factor in that." Jesse answers, his voice filled with frustration.

"I'm not ready." Rachel says quietly, her voice full with unshed tears.

Jesse scoffs as he turns back to face Rachel. "It's too late to throw that out there."

"Jesse can we please talk about this?"

"I'm sorry Rachel; if you can't put me before your team then I should just go." Jesse says dejectedly before walking out of the room and out of the house.

Rachel is left sitting on her bed. She doesn't cry or throw a tantrum; she just wonders how something that was supposed to be romantic went so wrong. She knows that she is to blame for changing her mind, but she doesn't know why Jesse got so angry about it. The last time she had said no Jesse had been a little cooler about it. She reaches for her cell phone and flips it open to text Jesse. Her thumbs hover over the keys, but she doesn't know what to type so she throws her phone into her clothes before flopping back onto her bed.

After slamming his car door closed behind him Jesse sits in the front seat of his red Chevy. He knows why he snapped, and yet it tears at him that he did. He understood that Rachel wasn't ready, but with everything weighing down on him the fact that she used her glee club as an excuse was enough to send him spinning into anger. He slams his fist into the steering wheel before taking off towards his home, tonight being alone in the large house will be a comfort.

Neither Rachel nor Jesse spoke to each other at all over the weekend. Jesse felt guilty for getting irrationally angry and Rachel just didn't know what to say, plus with both of them possessing diva attitudes they didn't want to be the one who broke first. However late Sunday night Jesse finally made contact with Rachel, he sent her a text apologizing and asking to meet her outside of her school in the parking lot. Rachel responded in kind and told him that she would love to meet. What Rachel didn't get in the text was that Jesse was transferring to McKinley.

It wasn't something that Jesse had been planning on, but when Shelby handed him the transfer papers all filled in Jesse couldn't help but graciously take the switch. Although now he would have to find much cleverer ways to lie to Shelby about New Directions performances, he was going to enjoy every minute of learning from his father and spending time with Rachel.

Jesse finds himself standing in front of William Schuester's office, his heart is beating rapidly and he can feel the perspiration start at the back of his neck. He takes a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Will looks up at the teenager standing before him, he recognizes the boy but it isn't until the young man introduces himself that Will knows where he's seen him. Will can't believe that Jesse St. James, the star of Vocal Adrenaline, is standing in his office asking to join his band of misfit singers, so he questions Jesse's motives.

"Why?" Will asks after Jesse explains the geographical and school board sanctioned reasons for the transfer.

Jesse wants to say that he had no choice or that he wanted to meet his father; however he goes with his other reason.

"To be with Rachel," Jesse whispers, "I've only been with her three weeks but there's something about her that has drawn me in and this is the only other way I can think of to be close to her. Even if it does mean getting caught up in her crazy."

Will smiles at the answer and knows that Jesse is genuine in his attraction to Rachel. He's also happy that Rachel is with someone who likes her for everything, not just her voice. Jesse for his part can't believe that he admitted all that to a stranger. He thinks that subconsciously his brain is trying to establish some kind of father/son bond with William Schuester and being honest about feelings is one way to do that. Jesse also goes onto to explain that he isn't spying for Vocal Adrenaline; Will believes this because he met Shelby and she didn't seem like a woman who would stoop to cheating or risk being disqualified over something like that.

"Well since everything seems to be in order I think it might be time for you to meet the rest of the club." Will says as he gets up from his chair. "Just a heads up, they might be a little cold to you and most likely call you a spy."

"Don't worry about it Mr. Schuester I can handle it." Jesse says, placing a confident look on his face and steeling himself for a great performance.

The minute the group hears that Jesse has transferred and will now be part of ND a cacophony of voices ring out, each objecting to the new addition. Some over losing solos, a few over him being a spy and one saying that the move is just to hurt his feelings. Jesse stores that last remark so he can ask Rachel what it meant. Jesse immediately falls back into an arrogant stance and throws out an aloof comment that with him already being a star the team could use his talent and learn from him.

The only one who is silent through the whole outburst is Rachel. She looks up at Jesse who refuses to meet her eyes, both out of embarrassment and guilt. When she turns to look at her team mates Jesse sneaks a look at her and notices her confusion and slight doubt in his switch of schools and teams. When there are still grumbles of his presence not being fair Will finally has enough and tells the team that anyone who has ever auditioned has made it so there will be no exceptions this time. The group quiets, but piercing looks are still aimed at Jesse and at Will.

A voice breaks through the tense silence and it nearly causes Jesse to lose his composure.

"Mr. Schue is he your son?" Brittany asks in all seriousness.

Jesse looks at his father to gage his reaction. There is both a look of bafflement, but when Will turns to look at Jesse, who offers a tight smile; there is something else in his eyes. A brief glimmer that Will would love to have a son like Jesse, someone dedicated to the arts, someone intelligent and loving. Jesse guards his look, knowing that Will isn't ready to hear that the cheerleader's hypothesis is correct. The look lasts a moment when Rachel breaks her uncharacteristic silence.

"I don't understand why you're doing this?" She asks her face guarded.

"Because when you love something you gotta go for it." Jesse admits truthfully, though Rachel still has doubt shining through her features. "You would never be with me completely if I were on the opposing team and I care about you more than winning another national title. So I left Vocal Adrenalin, for you."

Rachel bites her lip as a smile blooms across her face. She wants to jump out of her chair and drag Jesse back to her room and fuck him, just for that admission. Instead she settles for a quick peck when he seats himself next to her. The rehearsal isn't anywhere as intense or long as any that VA has ever had and Jesse is thankful for that, not that he had participated very much, he just watched the group go through a few Madonna numbers, trying to decide which worked best. However before the practice ended Jesse was forced to perform a Madonna number. He chose one that explained how he felt about Rachel and so he belted out _Burning Up for Your Love,_ which was met with a great round of applause from the group.

When his performance ended Jesse bolted from the room leaving a stunned Rachel standing there. She hears her phone chirp from her seat:

_I told you to meet me in the parking lot after school :)_

Rachel laughs at the reminder of last nights text as grabs her bags and quickly runs out of the school. Of course being Jesse he would hold her to what the text said. She spots him leaning against his car and she picks up her pace. She throws her arms around him in a hug when she reaches him. He brings his head down and gently kisses her lips.

"Did you do this on purpose?"

"Yeah, I knew I was going to be transferring on Friday so I thought I would surprise you."

"Well it's the best surprise I have ever had." Rachel says, lifting up on her toes to press another kiss to Jesse's soft lips.

"I'm glad you like it." He whispers against hers, before taking a more forceful kiss that makes Rachel week in the knees.

"Do you want to come back to my place? My dads are away until tomorrow." Rachel asks nervously.

Jesse wants to say yes. He wants nothing more than to explore Rachel's body, see what makes her moan, but he knows that she still isn't ready.

"I want to Rach, but I know that you aren't fully ready. I'll wait until you are."

Rachel tucks her head under Jesse's chin, hugging him tightly. She whispers a 'thank you' because she knows she isn't ready, but Jesse's words and actions prove that she very soon will be.

"Want to go for dinner?" Jesse asks and Rachel nods.

Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee*

The first two weeks with the McKinley glee club shows to Jesse how fun rehearsals can be. Not that he didn't have fun with VA, but when Shelby ran through performances all the fun and camaraderie of being in a team was replaced by performing robots. Jesse is still treated coldly by members of his new club, but there are a few that have accepted his presence and have grudgingly welcomed him. Matt, Mike and Brittany were the first to utilize his dance knowledge to their benefit and the four of them came up with a routine simple enough that the other members could easily pick it up and because of that the three ND dancers treated Jesse as one of their own. From that the rest of the group saw the benefits of having Jesse around, not only because of his extensive knowledge of the show choir world, but because he seemed to be the only person who has ever calmed Rachel from her usually manic behaviour and diva demands. The club really appreciated that.

Jesse has also enjoyed getting to know his father, well as well as you can know about someone in only two weeks. Sure he doesn't know his life story or anything deeper than a few snippets he's heard about divorcing his wife and how he's been trying so hard to save the club from destruction, but for Jesse it's a start into this man's life. Also in that two weeks Jesse's realizes quickly that Will Schuester didn't settle for being a teacher. He could tell that it was what Mr. Schue was passionate about. He does notice that Mr. Schue settled for the girl and the city, rather than going off and teaching in a school that loved and craved performers, with students who wanted to excel in all areas, so that they could go off and change the world. This thought makes Jesse happy, knowing that his father didn't throw his dream away. It's one of the more meaningful conversations Jesse has with Will, who is touched that this teenager actually wants to know why he became a teacher instead of following his voice to bigger and better things. And every so often Will catches himself watching Jesse perform and there is a touch of familiarity in mannerisms and facial expression that he can't place or maybe doesn't want to place.

Finn was the only one in those two weeks who still hadn't gotten over the sting of Jesse joining the club. Jesse had been filled in by Rachel about Finn's comment and about their previous pretty much non-existent relationship. That's why Jesse's blood boiled one afternoon when he saw Finn talking to Rachel and looking at her in a way that screamed 'take me back.' Jesse knew that he shouldn't play the possessive type, but the thought of losing Rachel made him want to. She had been the only constant in the past two weeks that made his life easier and made the taste guilt disappear with a look, a small touch and passionate kisses. So when he walks up to the former couple in the hallway he is surprised when Finn offers a truce and walks with him to the auditorium for their first big run through of _Like a Prayer_. Jesse finally feels like one of the group.

That night after dropping Rachel off from their movie date Jesse is sitting at his computer trying to work out what to write in his email to Shelby. He needs to keep it simple, yet fill it with enough to satisfy Shelby that Jesse is really spying. He decides to use what he saw the Cheerio's perform as the number ND is working on.

_Shelby,_

_They are working on doing a dance infused version of Madonna's 4 Minutes. They are using male and female vocal leads to do the song, while the rest of the group does a well choreographed dance routine._

_Its nothing compared to what we have done in the past, just letting you know._

_JsJ._

Jesse hits send and though the guilt eats at him because just by being in contact with Shelby in this way he is betraying two people he cares about and a team that is working so hard to overcome their greatest regional obstacle - Vocal Adrenaline – it is somewhat alleviated because he really isn't revealing any true glee club secrets.


	6. Accepted

**So this is a long chapter… I had a lot I needed to get in so that things can start getting a little more interesting. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. The rating is going up with chapter and you can tell why. Also I have no knowledge on the NYU or American university acceptance process (I'm Canadian) so if I get it wrong too bad, im not changing it.**

After Jesse's reluctant acceptance into New Directions and his initial joy at being with Rachel, he fell into a listless slump. Sure his voice still hit the perfect notes and his dance moves flowed effortlessly across the stage or rehearsal room, the emotion that usually accompanied these things is gone.

Jesse knows that it is because of all the turmoil and truths built up inside of him that are just longing to come out. He still sends Shelby weekly updates, all lies of course. He's been sneaking into Cheerio's practices and youtubing potential show choir routines to fill his emails. He wants to tell Rachel the truth but he can't, she'll run and he will be out on his own. Because he knows that if he lets it out that he is working for Shelby, he'll be out of VA and UCLA and his goal of being a star will slip.

So as the next month progresses he participates in rehearsals. He makes small talk with the group and they take enjoyment out of hearing some of the stories about VA dancers tripping up and he offers some of the horror stories that come with being the best. This bonds him with his new group, but none of them see that the passion that was in Jesse's eyes the first time they saw him perform.

There are two people who notice the change, Will and Rachel. Will sees that there is sadness behind Jesse's eyes. It's a look that Will faces daily in the mirror. A look that questions all the decisions you've ever made in your life and how that can get you stuck in a small town. Rachel being a performer sees the missing spark, the lack of connection to the songs. As Jesse's girlfriend she sees him shutting himself off slightly, hiding behind a show face that is slowly peeling around the edges. She wants to push him, to pick away the mask, get him to tell her what's eating at him, but she knows that once she starts picking at something she won't be able to stop and it might leave her with nothing but a broken heart.

Rachel notices that there is something wrong with Jesse when she's at another Friday night practice with Jesse and his kids. They are sitting in the empty auditorium watching his kids perform; well Jesse is silent watching the performances but not really seeing anything. Rachel tries to engage him in points that the kids should be watching out for but he just nods his head, not adding anything of his own.

"I think you should give the Seasons of Love solo to Caitlyn. Her voice is better suited to the notes." Rachel says.

"Yeah ok," Jesse responds, "Hey Caitlyn can you try the solo for Seasons?" Jesse says calling up to the stage.

Rachel raises her eyebrow. There wasn't even a fight back against the change, nothing of the usual demeanour of Jesse's leadership.

"Also the boys were half a beat behind on their turns."

"Ok, I'll get them to work on that." Again Jesse responds with barely any emotion.

Jesse gets up and tells the kids the things to work on before letting them go. He turns to Rachel and his face is blank, she frowns in response. Jesse knows that Rachel senses something is off with him. He wants her to pry into his life so that he has a valid excuse to admit the truth and to take the punishment that she will no doubt give him. It would make him feel better knowing that he know longer has to hide the secret about Shelby and maybe more so about his father. Instead he brings up a topic to take his mind off the guilt.

"Craziest audition story." He calls out to Rachel, who is caught off guard by the question but decides something is better than nothing.

"Umm, I must have been 10. I went out for the lead in my dance studios summer performance and as I went to do my final split in my jazz routine the entire back of my costume burst open." Rachel says making her way up to the stage. "I got the part and everyone standing behind me got a little bit of a show."

Jesse laughs at the story. "Mine must have been for the Carmel production of Cabaret two years ago. My partner and I were doing _Perfectly Marvellous _and at the end of the song it was supposed to be a peck like kiss as the sheet came up over us, but the girl decided that would be the time to stick her tongue in my mouth. I practically gagged right there and shouted 'What the fuck!' for everyone to hear."

"Did you get the role?" Rachel asks.

"No, after that mishap I went to audition for the role of the MC and got that."

"I guess it turned out a little better than for you."

"I guess it did."

The pair exchange a few more funny performance stories before Jesse winds his fingers through Rachel's and says that it's time for them to leave.

Rachel had forgotten the sad look on Jesse's face with their funny stories, but when she looks up at him as he goes to open the car door for her the look is slowly creeping back in. Rachel does the only thing she can think of to keep the look off his face; she pulls him in for a bruising kiss.

Jesse is stunned by Rachel's force, but he succumbs to the kiss. Both fight for dominance with their tongues, each wanting to take the lead. It reminds them of their personality, both striving to always be in control. However Jesse realizes that for a moment he doesn't want to be in control so he surrenders himself over to Rachel. And with that Rachel takes charge.

Her tongue delves deep into Jesse's mouth, before she drags it across the roof of his mouth. As she pulls it back into her own mouth, she nips at his bottom lip. At the Jesse tightens his grip on Rachel's waist and pulls her closer, forcing his hips to grind into hers. The friction causes Jesse to groan and Rachel to push him back against the car.

"Rach, Rach wait," Jesse pants out as he pulls away from Rachel's lips, "if we don't stop now I don't think I will be able to stop myself from fucking you in the back of my car."

Rachel looks up at Jesse's face, his pupils are dilated and she can feel his arousal. She knows she's not ready to have sex yet, but she's willing to do other stuff, because she wants the pleasure just as much as Jesse does.

"Is there somewhere we can go?" She asks and Jesse's eyes widen. "I'm still not ready to go all the way, but I'm ready to be a little more intimate."

Jesse smiles and ducks his head for another forceful kiss. He'll take her to his empty house, they'll have privacy there and it's infinitely better than the back of his car.

The drive over to Jesse's is silent. Jesse watches the road, but his right hand rests on Rachel's bare thigh and his fingers trace over the smooth skin there. Rachel worries the left side her bottom lip between her teeth as Jesse's fingers send shivers across her abdomen and tightness between her legs.

When Jesse pulls up in front of his large home Rachel pulls in a sharp breath. She wasn't expecting such a large house for just three people. Jesse steps out of the car and looks at the empty home, well house, it hasn't been a home since January when Jesse's parents left for their winter in Bali and then decided to extend their trip to go to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. Jesse opens the car door for Rachel and takes her warm hand as he leads her to the house.

The darkness and chill of the house isn't what Rachel is expecting. She didn't actually know what to expect, she knew that his house would be empty but she thought that there would be something a little more welcoming, some sign that Jesse had been around at least a few times since moving in with his uncle. Jesse watches Rachel's reaction to the house; he sees a slight pity in her brown orbs and he makes a mental note to bring Rachel back some time in the summer when his parents have one of their neighbourhood barbeques. Jesse hopes that this thing between Jesse and Rachel lasts that long.

"Come, I'll show you my room." Jesse says and Rachel gives him a coy smile.

Jesse leads her to his room and he walks in and sits on the bed. Rachel hesitates at the door, she wants what will happen when she crosses the threshold but she still has to prepare herself a little. Jesse smiles at the nervous girl and loves how she isn't afraid to show her vulnerable side to him.

"I'm not gonna bite. Well maybe a little, but we'll go slow."

Rachel nods at Jesse's words and before she can back out she throws herself at him and captures his lips with hers in a bruising kiss.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

"Wow," Rachel says breathlessly and she feels Jesse let out a laugh against the inside of her thigh.

Rachel had never experienced so much pleasure. Jesse had brought her to such heights with his mouth and tongue; it was as if he had been tracing out lyrics with his tongue along her clit and just inside her. Rachel had been embarrassed as Jesse kissed down her body as he opened her shirt to reveal her bra and then bunched her skirt up as he placed kisses along the top of her white panties before pulling them down to see all of Rachel. Since Jesse had made his comment about being fastidiously groomed; Rachel had made sure that she was neat down there. Rachel had blushed when Jesse gave her a wolfish grin before lowering his mouth to her.

Jesse kisses the inside of Rachel's thigh and pulls her skirt back down as he kisses up her bare stomach and across her white lace bra. He had loved listening to the sounds he had drawn from Rachel. He knew that he could pull out the best of her singing voice, but what he had just pulled out from deep within her was almost greater.

"That was better than…" Rachel doesn't even know what to compare it to, so she let's her thoughts trail off as Jesse presses his lips to hers in a wet, open mouthed kiss.

Jesse wraps his arms around Rachel and pulls her on top of him as he lies on his back. The pair smiles at each other and nothing else in the world matters, except for the two people in the room. In that moment Rachel wants to return some of the pleasure to Jesse.

Rachel drops kisses along Jesse's jaw and down his neck as her hands trail down his bare chest and over his firm abs. Her hand stops at the fly of Jesse's jeans and she looks into Jesse's eyes. He can see that she's nervous, unsure of what to do. If it had been any other girl in this situation Jesse would have scoffed and told her to get the fuck out, but Rachel isn't just some girl, she is special, she is more. Jesse knows that he is going to have to guide her.

Jesse unbuttons his jeans and gets Rachel to guide them off his hips. Freed from the confining denim Rachel can feel Jesse's arousal through his boxers and her thin skirt. Rachel looks at Jesse and he smiles as he takes her hand and wraps her fingers around his hard cock. Jesse's eyes close at the sensation and he lets out a groan. At the sound Rachel gains some confidence and remembers something she read in one of her Cosmos, she pulls her hand away and Jesse's eyes snap open. Jesse watches as Rachel brings the hand to her mouth and licks her palm. The sight turns Jesse on even more than he already is and it does the same to Rachel, who tastes the saltiness of her own palm and Jesse.

She returns her hand to Jesse's boxers and starts up a firm rhythm. Jesse groans again, at the now moist friction. Rachel draws her eyes away from what her hand is doing to watch Jesse's face. His lip is pulled into his teeth and his eyes are closed. Rachel tightens her grip and Jesse's mouth drops open in a loud moan. The sight brings the same heat to Rachel's core that she felt when Jesse first trailed his lips across her panties and she craves some kind of friction. She arches her hips against Jesse's leg and lets out a breathy gasp.

Jesse's eyes open at the feeling of Rachel against his leg. He slides his hand down her side and under her skirt. When his fingers brush her clit Rachel's grip tightens again and Jesse's whole body jerks. He lifts his head to capture her lips in a kiss and then whispers for her to slow down. Jesse can feel how wet she is and slowly pushes his index finger inside, Rachel gasps against Jesse's ear. He slides in another finger before crooking them and then pulling them out. He thrusts them in and out as his thumb circles her clit, and Rachel mimics the pace with the hand wrapped around Jesse's cock.

Rachel feels the build up of her orgasm deep in her belly. She's moaning loudly and Jesse groans against the side of her neck. Rachel comes for the second time that day and Jesse follows suit with a deep grunt and Rachel can feel his cum coating her hand.

"Sorry about that." Jesse whispers, after they both caught their breath. He uses his free hand to grab some Kleenex to clean themselves off.

After tossing the dirty tissues in the trash beside his bed Jesse settles back against the pillows and pulls Rachel to his side. She twines her leg in between his, wraps her arm across his torso and places a kiss against his collar bone.

"Thank you." Rachel says, just barely audible.

Jesse smiles and kisses the crown of her head. It is the lightest he has felt since Shelby's request. And he owes it all to the petite, powerful girl in his arms. Jesse hits play on his CD player and the sounds of Death Cab for Cutie fill the room. Jesse knows it's cheesy and cliché, too Seth Cohen from _The O.C._ for him, but his iPod dock is at his uncle's and he hasn't ever bothered taking DCFC out of the CD player.

Rachel snuggles closer to Jesse. She's happy that she got to share something like this with Jesse and she knows that soon she might be ready to take that next step with him. For now she'll enjoy doing this and just being with Jesse. She tilts her head up to look at him and sees that all the worry that had marred his features earlier is gone, Rachel is proud that she was the one to do that.

They lay together until the disc ends. Whispering about favourite musicals both Broadway productions and film, debating the pros and cons to directors changing aspects of stage shows for film adaptations. Jesse tells Rachel about his reigning years at Carmel and how the school respected the choir, but that didn't mean VA members didn't resent Shelby's favouritism of him. Rachel tells him about drawings in bathroom stalls and Slushie facials; although with Jesse as her boyfriend the Slushies seemed to have stopped. Its one of the more honest conversations the pair has had, up to that point conversations had been relegated to mostly surface and new relationship topics, with what had happened that afternoon things were bound to change.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

After a week of enjoying glee rehearsals and spending time with Rachel and obviously doing more than just talking and kissing, Jesse was pulled back to the real world. Shelby had shown up at his uncle's place to demand that Jesse provide more information, to actually send her the musical arrangements and choreography details. Jesse tells her no, but she shows him that email that she is ready to send to Will Schuester proving that Jesse is a spy and that would more than ruin Jesse's chance to get close to his father.

Though the turmoil had returned to Jesse and again Rachel and Will noticed the shift in Jesse. There was one moment of pure happiness in those two weeks that followed Shelby's appearance at his uncle's. A moment that Jesse knows can free him somewhat from the grasp of Shelby.

Before school Jesse opens the stack of mail addressed to him, mixed in with the magazines and postcards from his parents, is an envelope stamped with the NYU logo. Jesse tears open the paper and his eyes quickly scan the letter. Jesse got accepted NYU, and the chance to audition for Tisch. Jesse can barely contain his joy; he needs to share this news with Rachel but he doesn't want to do it over the phone or even at school so he plans to invite her over for dinner and tell her then.

Jesse checks his watch and sees that he's going to be just on time for class. He shoves the acceptance letter in his bag; he knows that he is going to be checking it multiple times throughout the day to make sure that it's real. First and second period pass quickly and Jesse joins Rachel at lunch.

"Hey babe," Jesse says as he picks up Rachel in a hug and spins her.

She lets out a little shriek and giggle as he does this, before dropping a kiss to her lips.

"What was that for?" Rachel asks, the clearly jubilant Jesse.

"Well it's been a great day so far and seeing you now has made it better." He responds, slinging his arm over her shoulder as he leads her to a lunch table.

"I'm glad that you're so happy, but care to share what's made this day so amazing?"

"I will tell you, but not here." Jesse says and Rachel frowns. "I'll tell you tonight over dinner, maybe I can cook you something since your dads are away again."

"Sounds perfect, are you sure you can cook?"

"Hey I can make an excellent honey mustard chicken." Jesse says. "Ok I'll go grab us some lunch."

Jesse takes off his messenger bag and drops it on the table before going to join the line up of students waiting to get food. Rachel watches Jesse walk away before smiling to herself to see that Jesse is so happy. She turns her attention to the open bag on the table and shakes her head. For one of the most anally neat and well kept boys, Jesse sometimes acts like all the rest. She reaches for the bag to put it on his chair, as she pulls it some papers fall out. Rachel grabs them and quickly scans them before going to put them away. She stops when she sees the NYU logo.

Rachel turns and sees Jesse still waiting in line; she quickly reads the letter and lets out a little squeak. This acceptance must be what has Jesse so happy. Rachel thinks it romantic that he wants to share the news with her over dinner rather than here at school. She quickly sticks the letter back into his bag, but she can't wipe off the mega watt grin from her face. When Jesse returns with their pitas and fruit salad, Rachel places a peck on his lips.

"That is for being the best boyfriend in the world and for being one of the luckiest guys in the world?"

"How am I lucky?" Jesse asks.

"Because you get to spend your time with one Rachel Berry," She doesn't add because he got into one of the best schools in the country with the chance to audition to get into Tisch.

Lunch is filled with idle chatter and a few kisses. Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie join them halfway through the lunch break and the group discusses ways to make their small group of 13 look larger and sound stronger to match that of the 19 strong Vocal Adrenalin. Jesse is a well of knowledge on this and the six write down his suggestions and how they can adapt them to fit ND's needs. When the lunch bell rings Jesse says he'll meet Rachel after class to drive her home, Rachel tells him that she has her car and that she needs to run an errand after school, but she will meet him at her place for dinner.

The minute school is let out Rachel drives to the store where she first met Jesse. She knew that getting him something from the store would be a great way to say congratulations and good luck. She's got a few books in her hands, and she's browsing through The Beatles section of the store when she over hears a conversation. She initially ignores it until she hears her and Jesse's names come up.

"_We are going to kill at this year's Regionals." A girl whispers._

"_Obviously, all the chatter is still saying that we are still reigning champions, even without Jesse." A second girl responds_

"_Well with what he's doing it's a lock for our win." _

"_What do you mean? What's he doing? He left us."_

"_Please. Like Shelby would let that happen, plus when I passed her desk today I saw her email open and she had a few from Jesse, I think she's gotten him to spy for us."_

"_Jesse wouldn't do that, he's too proud."_

"_He is, but I bet Shelby is holding something over him, something that he doesn't want to lose or something he wants to keep hidden." _

Rachel's thoughts rush through her head. She can't believe that Jesse is using her. She feels everything slip away from her, but she can't let the two girls know that she overheard their conversation. Rachel quietly slips out of the store and drives home as the tears threaten to spill from her eyes.


	7. Fight

Jesse knocks on Rachel's front door just after 6. He's holding a picnic basket with the food he's made and his acceptance letter is in his jacket pocket. When Rachel doesn't immediately answer the door Jesse knocks again, a worried look crossing his face. He knocks a third time and is reaching for his phone when Rachel opens the door. Jesse steps back at the sight of Rachel, her eyes are red and her face is twisted in a look of pure loathing.

Before Jesse can question the look his cheek is met with Rachel's palm in a resounding slap. Jesse staggers back and Rachel's hand flies to her mouth in shock. She hadn't been planning on doing that, she was just going to question him and most likely yell at him, the slap must have been her drama queen coming out.

"Wh-What the fuck was that?" Jesse asked fiercely.

"You swore that you weren't using me! You said that you wouldn't play me! But those were all just fucking lies!" Rachel yells and goes to slam the door.

Jesse stops it with his foot and follows her into the house.

"What are you talking about? I'm not using you!" Jesse responds angrily, he thought that Rachel trusted him. Even though he knows that he hasn't been completely honest, he hasn't been using her.

"I don't believe you!" Rachel takes a breath before continuing. "I know that you only got close to me to spy on New Directions, but its over now I know the truth, I heard a few of your Vocal Adrenalin team mates talking about the emails you have been send to Shelby Corcoran. So don't bother denying it."

Jesse opens and closes his mouth, no sound escaping. His mind is reeling with the possibilities of how Rachel found out. If she even knows the truth, she could be bluffing. He looks into her eyes and knows that she is firm in her accusations and this silence from him all but confirms his actions.

"It's not like that Rachel. I…" Jesse pauses, an ache settling in his chest at the disgust pouring from Rachel's eyes.

"What? What was it like Jesse?"

"It wasn't supposed to be like this, I never wanted to spy. I like-"

"Don't you dare say that you like me for me and that you were only asked to spy on _my_ team after we met."

"But that's the truth Rachel. I met you that day at the store accidentally, it wasn't planned. I never thought that I would ever find myself in a relationship with you, let alone actually meeting you." Rachel rolls her eyes at this. "I would never stoop so low as to spy on a rival team, if I can't win something because of my own talent I don't deserve to win." Jesse says dropping onto the couch in front of Rachel.

"Then why were you sending emails to Shelby?" Rachel asks her hands on her hips, the anger still in her voice.

"They were filled with lies." Jesse answers and Rachel quirks her eyebrow, so Jesse continues. "I was sending her fake set lists, song arrangements and choreography notes. Yeah I might have told her the artist but I always chose a different song."

Rachel softens her stance at the sincerity in Jesse's voice, but she knows that he is an actor so she steals her resolve again.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Jesse looks up into Rachel's eyes. He notes that she is torn between believing him and wanting to throw him to the wolves that are the glee club. He thinks he might deserve even chose that fate if Rachel doesn't relent and listen to him.

"Here I'll send you every single email I've ever sent Shelby." Jesse says and pulls out his iPhone, sending Rachel the past few weeks' worth of emails.

Rachel hears her laptop ping with the sound of incoming emails. She makes no move to go read them. The two teens stare at each other. Jesse looks defeated, but relieved. Like the weight that he had been struggling to carry around has been lifted, Rachel thinks she sees Jesse become lighter the moment he had sent her the truth. Jesse sees the unshed tears in her eyes and he wants nothing more than to pull her close and let her soak his shirt with them.

"Jesse just tell me the truth why did this happen? How did it start?" Rachel asks quietly, and moves to sit next to Jesse. She hopes that being closer and talking like normal people instead of in harsh tones will help her see the truth.

"Well Mr. Schue came to a rehearsal and told Shelby about us. I wasn't going to, until I knew that it was more than just a one date thing. After she found out from Mr. Schue she thought that it was a great thing, something that she could use to win again."

"I guess I get the why and the how. Just one other thing I heard at the store, one of the girls said that the only reason you would be doing this is if Shelby had something over you, what does she have?"

Jesse turns his head to look at Rachel, her brown eyes staring at him waiting for an answer. He can't look at them; he pulls himself off the couch and runs his hands through his hair. He doesn't want to give Rachel the real reason, he was going to, but with all this anger he knows that it isn't the right time.

"UCLA. Shelby holds all the connections for my future. Yeah the scholarship should be mine, but she can make one call and it will all go away."

Rachel scoffs and shakes her head. "I asked for the truth Jesse, why are you still lying?"

"I'm not lying Rach. It's the truth." Jesse says angrily, because it is partially the truth.

"It's bullshit. You don't need that as your future anymore." Rachel says standing, and Jesse gives her a confused look. "I saw your acceptance to NYU. It accidentally slipped out of your bag at lunch today. That was probably more of an accident, than you showing up at that music store close to McKinley."

Jesse is speechless he's cornered and he doesn't know what to say. Rachel remembers something that Jesse had previously said, that it was an accident he was at that store, but why would he be there when there was one closer to his home and Carmel.

"Which by the way, what the hell were you doing in the McKinley area? I know there is another store closer to Carmel, so why were you all the way over in this area? Was it really such an accident? Just tell me the fucking truth!" Rachel yells the last sentence.

"Because I fucking chickened out on my way to your school to finally meet my father for the first time!" Jesse practically shouts and Rachel pulls back as if the words had weight and hit against her, she knows that this isn't a lie.

"Yeah Brittany had it right, I am Will Schuester's son, even if he doesn't know it. So that's the truth. That's what Shelby is holding over me and with it basically she can decide how my future relationship with my father will go." Jesse takes Rachel's silence as a sign that she doesn't believe him. "So I'm stuck being a fucking 'spy,' being the one guy that no one fully trusts, I'm losing the one girl that has actually been able to keep up with me, I'll probably lose what ever chance I had at having a relationship with my father and watch by Monday I will have lost my place in the glee club."

When Rachel still makes no move Jesse scoffs and leaves, slamming the door behind him. The sound jerks Rachel from her statue like position and she drops to the couch, she can't believe what she has just heard and what she just did to Jesse. The tears fall from her eyes, not because of the ache of betrayal, but because of the hurt for Jesse and the thought that now he might just run back to Vocal Adrenalin and this time with real setlists.

Jesse peels out of Rachel's driveway and drives a few blocks away before pulling over and slamming his hand on the steering wheel. He can't understand how things got so fucked up. He knows he won't be putting in an appearance at school tomorrow, but he won't be leaving McKinley either. Once he's calmed down a bit he drives himself to his home, tonight he longs for the silent, emptiness of that house.

**This was a short one... but i was inspired and it came out like this. So please leave a review, even if its just to say that you like, love or even hate this story. :)**


	8. Advice

**Sorry it too a little longer for an update. i had a hard time writing this one. i hate the scene between Jesse and Schue, but i couldn't think of a way to make it better. Hopefully the next will be easier to write.  
Cheers and thanks for R&R.**

Friday morning came all too early for Rachel.

She had been up most of the night. First she read through all the emails Jesse had sent to Shelby, and then she re-read them all again to make sure that she had read them thoroughly enough to know that none contained any New Directions information. After that she wrote, edited and deleted about 10 emails that she had wanted to send to Jesse, she would start dialling his cell only to stop at the last moment; it was well past 2 am when she finally flopped on her bed with her cell phone in her hands. Just before 3 am she sent a short text, two words,

_I'm Sorry._

Before finally falling asleep with her phone clenched in her hands.

So that morning she pulls out the first things from her drawer, a purple sweater and a pair of jeans. She can't even be bothered to style her hair so she throws it into a low slung ponytail. At school she's mostly invisible. The fact that she isn't wearing her normal skirts or sweaters with animals on them means that no one singles her out and she is able to pass from class to class unnoticed.

It isn't until her second period Spanish class that anyone even realizes that Rachel is there. Will notices that there is something wrong with Rachel. Normally she's volunteering and perky but today she is silent and when he catches her appearance he knows that there is something wrong, something most likely boy related.

He has to fight the urge to walk over to Rachel and ask about it. He wants to comfort her, to ask her what's wrong, but he knows that in this situation Rachel probably would rather talk with the girls of the glee club than her teacher. No matter how understanding he is. When he catches Rachel's eye on her way out of the class room he gives her a sympathetic look that quickly shifts to a confused one. He sees that Rachel is studying him, looking at his face as if seeing it for the first time; he hopes that she isn't developing a crush on him again.

Rachel sees that Mr. Schuester is giving her an odd look so she bolts out of the classroom. She knows that if he even asked her what she was doing she would have blurted everything out. Including the fact that Jesse is his son. She knows that she will have time to study his appearance during glee and see what Brittany saw that first day to make her ask what was at the time a ridiculous question.

The rest of the day passes in invisibility for Rachel. She spends her lunch period checking her phone religiously to see if Jesse texted or called. She was tempted to call him, but she doesn't because she is too scared to hear that he is transferring back to Carmel.

Glee comes and Rachel seats herself in the far back corner, almost hidden behind the band. No one in the club notices her they just sit and wait for Mr. Schuester. He walks in and tells the group that their project for next week is going to be Broadway numbers.

"Umm Mr. Schue shouldn't we wait for Rachel and Jesse? I mean they are bound to have a lot to say on this subject." Finn says and Rachel shoots a pained look to the back of his head.

"Well I haven't seen Jesse all day and Rachel's sitting there in the corner and it looks like she doesn't have any complaints about the project." Will tells Finn. It causes all the kids to turn and look at Rachel.

"I think this is a brilliant idea Mr. Schue. This club needs to be exposed to more musicals; we can't just rely on pop numbers and classic rock songs. We need the full spectrum and musicals will help our club round out our set lists." Rachel says with her normal speed, but none of her normal drive.

The group turns back to Mr. Schuester after this as he pulls out a few Broadway music books and hands them out. The kids spring forward and look through the books, Rachel sits in her spot she doesn't need a music book her brain is already on overdrive thinking of songs. She is watching Mr. Schuester. She sees that he and Jesse have similar hair, similar blue-grey eyes, though Mr. Schuester has a narrower face both have a strong jaw line and not to mention both possess a talent for singing. Rachel thinks that if she saw them together on the street she might mistake them for brothers, not father and son. She knows that it must have been a case of teenage pregnancy, but one that Mr. Schuester didn't know about, maybe it happened because of a really big mistake and the girl never told Mr. Schuester.

Rachel is thinking about the reasons why Mr. Schuester doesn't know about Jesse when Quinn interrupts her thoughts.

"Hey man hands, where's your pretty boy boyfriend?" Quinn asks and Rachel thinks of the only plausible lie.

"He wasn't feeling well yesterday so he decided to stay home, he didn't want to risk getting sick because there are some germ infested people at this school who don't understand the concept of hygiene."

"Oh, well you know that they are all going to say that he's back at Carmel revealing all our secrets." Quinn responds placing the _Chicago_ music book on her lap.

Rachel looks at the others in the club. The boys are all standing together in a group, as are the rest of the girls. Only she and Quinn seem to be the outsiders, watching the hushed whispers.

"Well he's not." Rachel answers curtly. "What song are you going to choose?"

"I was thinking Roxie."

"I think that's a good choice for your range. I mean if Renee Zellweger can pull it off, you can too."

"Thanks. Maybe you can help with some of the singing." Quinn offers.

Rachel nods in response. Quinn gives her one last look before going to join everyone else. Rachel watches how Quinn positions herself next to Finn, who subconsciously moves his body to stand behind the pregnant girl, almost protecting her. It makes Rachel smile and lets her know that she really is over Finn because she feels no pang of jealousy.

The practice ends early, it being Friday and everyone wanting to get out of school to start their weekend. Everyone clears out leaving only Finn and Rachel in the room. Finn looks at the door as he watches Quinn walk out. He still hasn't talked to her about what she did, but he knows that he does miss her. He's realized that he did have feelings for Rachel, but being without her for the past month and watching her with Jesse, Finn knows that he and Rachel would never have worked out.

Rachel watches Finn, she doesn't know what he's going to say or do, and she just really wants to get out of the room. She knows though that he wouldn't have stayed unless he had something to say to her. He comes and sits next to her and she gives him a tight smile.

"What's up Rachel?"

She shrugs and shakes her head.

"Come on. You aren't wearing your normal clothes, you were silent all practice. Hell I didn't even notice you in the halls today. So what's going on?"

"Nothing just woke up late."

"Oh, so it's nothing to do with Jesse?"

Rachel gives Finn an astonished look, almost like he read her mind. "Well we sort of got in a fight yesterday. And I haven't talked to him since he stormed out of my house. I want him to call, but I'm too afraid to call him."

Finn doesn't really know what to say, so he just goes with something standard. "Well I'm sure that he'll call you tonight he probably just needed the day to cool off."

"Maybe, but I can't help thinking that because of what our fight was about he's going to transfer back to Carmel. He's going to abandon me here and tell all our glee secrets and ruin our chances and in a way ruin me."

Finn's eyes dart around the room; he didn't expect that to come out of Rachel's mouth, let alone to him.

"For all it's worth I don't think he'd do that." Finn offers and Rachel looks at him. He gives her a crooked smile. "Sure I didn't like him and I might not completely trust him, but he wouldn't do that to you Rachel. I seen him with you, he really likes you and I don't think he would give all that up over just one fight."

"But it was horrible and by the time it was over he was angry and so was I and…"

"Rach with the two of you being so dramatic no wonder it seemed like a huge fight." Rachel chuckles at this. "Just call him tonight and talk, I mean it's good to get that stuff all out in the open so you can move on and be together."

Rachel gives Finn a beaming smile as she says, "Maybe you should take your own advice."

"Yeah." He says thinking about Quinn and maybe the fact that it might be time to talk about what happened.

"Thanks Finn." Rachel says standing.

"No problem."

The pair leaves the music room, both thinking of the conversation they just had and both resolving to do something about their respective feelings and situations.

*GLEE*GLEE*GLEE*

Jesse's day started early, he had gotten up and had a run before jumping in the shower. He knew that he wasn't going to be at school, but that didn't mean he was going to spend the day in bed. When he got out of the shower he checked his cell phone. He only had one new text. It was Rachel saying that she was sorry. Jesse wanted to text her back, but he was still too angry from yesterday so he set his phone down and went to the kitchen.

Because he had gone to his house last night Jesse decided to utilize the empty house to blast music and just get his feelings out through angry rock songs. The majority of his day was spent in that way, along with coming up with potential Regional's songs and numbers for New Directions. He knew that the group was good and that they were able to come up with some great numbers, it wouldn't hurt to help them along in the right direction.

He also checks his emails. There is one from his parents telling him about their trip, he sends them a quick response. The other is from Shelby. Attached are sheet music and a choreography video for Vocal Adrenalin's Regional's number. Bohemian Rhapsody. Jesse's parts are marked off with red, and the video is using a stand in to show him what to do. After looking at the attachments Jesse finally reads the email.

_I see that you have been including more in the emails and we all thank you._

_Based on what you've shared, our performance is sure to win._

_So learn your parts – singing and choreography – I will expect a near perfect performance of the both very soon. I need to know that you are keeping up with us._

_Shelby._

Jesse is tempted to delete the email, but he doesn't. He knows that if Rachel revealed his secret he is going to have to go back to VA, so he keeps it as back up.

Throughout the day he is tempted to call Rachel and nearly does, but he wonders why she hasn't called or texted him since last night and because of this he always puts his phone down and goes back to listening to music or playing on the piano.

By 4 in the afternoon Jesse is restless, he needs to get out of the house and do something. He gets in his car and heads in the direction of his uncle's. He's passing the plaza where he met Rachel and he decides to pull in. He goes into the music store and just browses through, he feels contented for the first time since last night. He spends a good hour flipping through a few biographies before making his way to their café. On his way to order a drink he sees Will.

"Jesse?" Will says confusion is evident in his voice.

"Hello Mr. Schuester." He says.

"I thought you were sick?" Will asks, and Jesse's face looks like he's just been caught cheating.

"Not exactly, I just decided to take the day off."

"Oh. I thought maybe something happened between you and Rachel."

"Why would you-"

"It was just the way she was acting today. She was quiet, her clothes weren't her normal style and she just looked sad."

Jesse drops into the empty chair across from Will. "I don't really know why she was like that."

"Look Jesse I may not be the best person to talk to about relationships, hell I was just at Sheet's and Things setting up a meeting to finalize my divorce, but I do know one thing and that is when someone looks like Rachel did today it's because her heart was really hurting."

"Oh god." Jesse whispers.

Will decides that he is going to give Jesse some advice that he wish he had gotten from his father.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but I think you need to talk about it. Seriously talk, because avoiding the situation never works and it will just get worse until one of you snaps and everything ends."

Jesse looks at his father. He knows that there is something else behind those words than just comfort and advice. Jesse feels something, like a new connection with his father and it makes him smile. It also makes him realize that he has to get to Rachel's to talk to her.

"Thanks Mr. Schuester." Jesse says standing.

"Anytime Jesse. If there's anything else you want to talk about, don't hesitate to come find me." Will doesn't know why he offers that to Jesse, a lot of the time he sends students to Emma, but this time he doesn't.

He felt something when he looked at Jesse, almost a fatherly desire to help him out of his situation. Will shakes his head, the fact that he was so ready and preparing to be a father not that long ago must still be ingrained in him.

Jesse leaves Will with a smile on his face and a determination to have a serious conversation with Rachel. He gets into his car and follows the now familiar path to his girl friend's home.


	9. Truths and Firsts

**So the whole blood thing might seem a little far fetched, but just go with it. It's fiction so you know.**

Jesse takes in a deep breath. He's standing outside of Rachel's door; the last time he was standing like this he left the house full of anger and it felt like it had been days since he last saw Rachel, even though it was less than 24 hours. Jesse knows that it's thoughts like that, that make him almost a big a drama queen as Rachel.

He lifts his hand and knocks on the door. He hopes that she's home because he really doesn't want to be waiting on her porch like a crazy stalker. He knocks again and this time the door swings open.

Rachel is standing with her purse in one hand and car keys in the other. She brings her bottom lip under her teeth before dropping everything and throwing herself into Jesse's arms. Immediately Jesse locks his arms around Rachel, holding her to him almost as tightly as she is holding him. He steps back a little and tilts her head up to capture her lips in a soft kiss.

When the pair pulls apart, Rachel practically pulls Jesse into the house. He stops to pick up her bag and keys and Rachel closes the door, however they both maintain a point of contact with one another.

"Going some where?" He asks as he drops the keys into her bag.

"I was going to drive over to your house to talk."

"How would know I would be there?"

"Because I know you wouldn't have wanted to be at your uncle's place. Even though you hate the silence of your house, it's preferable than noise when you are upset."

Jesse nods and drops a kiss to Rachel's hair as she leads him up to her room.

Once in the yellow warmth of her room Jesse sets her purse down on her desk and turns to lean on it. Rachel perches at the end of the bed and immediately starts to speak.

"I first want to say that I am sorry for the fight. Even though I know that I really shouldn't be that sorry because you did deceive me. And with my tendency for dramatics there was no other alternative outcome for me finding out the truth. It was inevitable that a fight would follow." Rachel says and Jesse nods, he's about to apologize again when Rachel starts up again. "But I do realize how I could have been more mature and handled things a little bit better, especially when I questioned your motives behind you being at the music store. And then making no move to follow you after you admitted that Mr. Schue is…"

Rachel can't finish the thought; she still can't process the fact that her 34 year old Spanish teacher was the biological father of her boyfriend.

"Rach you shouldn't even have to apologize. I am the one at fault here. I should have been honest with you from the start, but I was scared. Scared to lose my scholarship, the chance at having a relationship with my father and I was really scared to lose whatever had started between us." Jesse gives Rachel a smile at this. "So I agreed to the plan, but I realized quickly that I didn't want that guilt hanging over me, so I sent the fake emails. But I was in too deep though to find anyway of getting out from under Shelby's control. It wasn't until I got the acceptance to NYU that I saw a glimmer of hope of getting out and I was going to tell you the truth, but you found out and before I could tell you and that changed things. I hope you looked through the emails and saw that I never betrayed the team. I couldn't."

"I saw the emails. Thank you." Rachel whispers. "And thank you for coming back. I was so worried that you were going to abandon me and return to Carmel. That the last two and half months were nothing but lies, it was as if the team's early distrust of you had invaded me and I had no way to know the truth. Those thoughts plagued me and all day. And every time the thought of not seeing your face it was as if there was a clenching in my chest. So after a talk with a friend they made me realize that you wouldn't do that and that if I was thinking those things I should talk to you."

Jesse knew that, that friend was most likely Finn and while it made him a little jealous that the boy Rachel used to like was talking to her about emotional things; he knew that Finn was just trying to help.

"I wouldn't abandon you Rachel. Though the initial plan to transfer to McKinley was to spy and then transfer back to Carmel I'm not going to be doing that anymore. I'm staying."

"Really?"

Jesse nods. "Remember what I said the day I joined New Directions?"

"That when you love something you have to go for it?" Rachel asks, not completely remembering.

"Yeah, but when I said that it was just something I had heard once but never really grasped the meaning, But now I know what those words mean and I want to go for it Rachel because I'm falling in love with you."

"You're falling in love with me?" Rachel asks with a childlike quality to her voice.

"Yeah I am and I-"

Jesse can't finish his sentence as Rachel bounds off the bed and crashes her lips against his. Her lips are insistent and her fingers fist his hair pulling him more into the kiss. Jesse is momentarily stunned by Rachel by regains control and teases her lips open with his tongue. Rachel gives a little hum as Jesse's tongue drags along the roof of her mouth and Jesse can feel the tightening of his jeans. Rachel has never been so ready for anything in her life. She grinds her hips against Jesse's as she breaks the kiss and looks into his eyes.

"I'm ready, for real this time. Because I'm falling in love with you too." Rachel tells Jesse and the smile on his face is pure happiness.

Not because he is finally going to be getting sex, the two of them had gotten each other off so often after that first time that the pleasure of the act wasn't what thrilled him. It is the fact that it's Rachel and it's with someone he is falling in love with.

Jesse turns with Rachel in his arms and sits at the end of her bed. He brings her in for another kiss before working his hands under her sweater and pulling both it and her tank top off. He brings Rachel closer and drops a kiss between her breasts as he reaches behind her to undo her bra. As is drops away from her body Jesse drags his lips over to one pebbled nipple as his hand palms the other. Rachel arches her back into the familiar sensation of Jesse's mouth on her bare chest. His hand leaves her breast and finds the zipper at the back of her skirt, he pulls it open and the skirt drops from Rachel's hips. She kicks it away as Jesse smoothes his fingers along the top of her panties.

Rachel is grasping at the back of Jesse's shirt bunching it up by his shoulders. He pulls away from her chest and she let's out a sounds of disappointment, but with this she is able to pull off Jesse's shirt and then push him back onto the bed. She trails her lips down his throat as her hands work open Jesse's fly. She pushes herself up so Jesse can work his pants and boxers off, but she lowers her head to lick his collar bone. She can feel how hard he is against her bare thigh, she shifts her leg, creating friction and Jesse lets out a sound between a moan and a groan.

Jesse pulls Rachel in for another kiss, this time their tongues battle for dominance. Jesse soon flips them. He looks into Rachel's eyes to see if there is a hint of a sign telling him to stop, there isn't. He reaches to her night table and pulls out the condoms he knows she has hidden there. He rolls it on as Rachel watches. He leans in pressing kisses along the column of her throat as his hands make quick work of pulling off her underwear. He settles himself between her legs and pulls Rachel's legs up around his waist.

She knows this will hurt a little, but only for a moment. She takes a deep breath and looks into Jesse's blue eyes. All she sees there is love and she nods for him to go ahead. Jesse lowers his lips to hers and thrusts in quickly. They gasp against each others lips, Jesse out of pleasure and Rachel from the jolt of pain. Jesse is still for another moment, letting her get used to him inside her. He drops another kiss before slowly pulling out and thrusting back in.

It's torture for Jesse to keep the slow pace, but he does until he starts to hear moans of pleasure escaping Rachel's lips. He picks up the pace and the sounds he draws from her increase. Rachel can feel her orgasm coming, she whispers it in Jesse's ear and he slips his hand between them. It takes only a few more thrusts before Rachel is coming, with Jesse following moments after.

Jesse kisses Rachel's collar bone twice before slipping out of her. The sensation force a small moan in the back of Rachel's throat and Jesse smiles as he gets out of the bed to dispose of the condom and put his boxers back on, before sinking back onto the bed leaning against her headboard. Rachel pulls on her panties and his t-shirt before leaning back against Jesse. She twines her fingers with his and rests them on his abs.

The pair looks at one another, but say nothing. It's a first for either of them, but they both know that no words are needed. Rachel drops a kiss to Jesse's chest then snuggles against him, closing her eyes. Her emotional day, lack of sleep and sated body force Rachel to fall asleep, no matter how hard she struggles to stay awake. Jesse watches her for a moment, and though he does want to talk he can't help but follow her into sleep.

Rachel wakes hours later. Her arm thrown across Jesse's chest, her leg wrapped around his. She looks up at his face; it's smooth and calm, peaceful as if everything that had weighed him down had been lifted. There is though around his eyes a look of sadness and Rachel wonders if that has to do with Mr. Schuester being his father.

She senses Jesse stirring, but she doesn't want him to wake up yet. So she gently pulls herself apart from him. As she stands she feels a slight twinge between her legs. The muscles aren't sore, years of dance made sure she was limber; it's almost a sense memory of being filled by Jesse. She creeps quietly out of the room and down to the kitchen. She's starving and she knows that Jesse must be as well.

She pulls out chickpea salad, knowing the protein will be good for them in case they decide to exert a little more energy. Cuts a few slices of French bread, a few slices of cheddar, cuts up two apples and places them on a serving plate. She looks at the food and thinks that it will be filling. She pulls two bottles of water from the fridge and makes her way back up stairs.

Jesse is still asleep when she walks in the room. She puts down the plate and the water on her desk before going over to Jesse and placing kisses by his ear.

"Wake up," she sing-songs and receives whiny moan in return. "Wake up; I brought us something to eat."

She kisses him a few more times before he tilts his head and captures her lips. Rachel laughs into the kiss.

"Food? Good I'm starving." Jesse says rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up as Rachel brings over the tray.

The pair eats their food, while stealing kisses and soft touches. Jesse stands to put the empty tray back on the desk and Rachel watches him, admiring his body. Jesse turns to face Rachel and she can't control her self, she pulls the tshirt she is wearing off, leaving her naked. Jesse smiles before rushing to the bed. The pair goes for another round that night.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

Saturday both teens wake up late, but they both get out of bed. The day is lazy, but both find time to practice a little singing and because both missed their routine early morning workout regiment they took a walk around Rachel's neighbourhood; and then made up the cardio when they had sex on Rachel's couch as How I Met Your Mother played on TV.

The rest of the day Jesse and Rachel work on their Glee project. They disagree over duets, throwing away Phantom, Rent, Wicked, Spring Awakening and a whole host of other Broadway musical duets, but not before performing parts of them just to re-enact the love. Jesse then pulls out Rachel's Les Miz music book and flips to _A Little Fall of Rain_.

"Let's see if we can bring the club to tears," he says. "They probably expect some great love duet, but this will really show to them how good we are."

"Perfect." Rachel responds, before placing a kiss on Jesse's lips and dramatically falling to the floor as if she's been shot.

Jesse chuckles before joining her on the floor. They practice the song and each time they get better. Fixing their 'staging' and the emotion in their voice, they want their performance to be perfect.

Just after three Jesse goes back to his uncle's to shower and grab some clean clothes. He promises Rachel he will be back later in the evening, he just needs to spend some time with his cousins and tell them the news about NYU. Rachel in that time texts Quinn and tells her that if she wants help on the song she can come over. Rachel doesn't know why she did that, but she was feeling too good to worry about whatever past feuds she had with the pregnant cheerleader.

Quinn is just about ready to leave after a few hours of practicing Roxie, when both girls hear a voice calling out for Rachel. Quinn raises an eyebrow to the Rachel and sets a smirk on her face as Jesse walks into Rachel's bedroom.

"Uh hi Quinn." Jesse says, confused at her presence.

"Hello Jesse, so feeling better?"

"Huh?"

"Well that's why you weren't at school on Friday. Rachel said you weren't feeling good."

"Yup, that's right. But I'm feeling a lot better now." He says before looking over at Rachel, practically fucking her with his eyes.

Quinn turns her head at the look and smirks into her shoulder. She noticed there was something a little bit different with Rachel and now she knows what it is; Rachel Berry was no longer a virgin.

"Well I have to get going. Thanks for helping with the song Rachel." Quinn says, "I'll see you both on Monday."

"Bye Quinn." Jesse says as Rachel leaves to walk Quinn to the door.

When Rachel comes back upstairs she finds Jesse lounging on her bed and she crawls in beside him. His hand traces nonsense shapes along her arm and Rachel shivers at the feeling. She wants to lean up and kiss him, but she fights the feeling and stays put with her head cushioned on his chest. She knows that they have to talk about the last things their fight brought up, Jesse's paternity.

"I know you want to ask, just do it." He whispers.

Rachel cranes her head to look at Jesse. "How did you find out that Mr. Schuester was your biological father? How did you find out you were adopted?"

"Well I figured out that I was adopted when I was younger. I had read something about genetic traits and I figured out that my parents weren't biologically related to me. So once I knew that I asked them and they told me."

"They just came out and told you, your father was Mr. Schuester?"

"No," Jesse says with a bit of a chuckle. "They told me that yes I was adopted and my mom told me what she knew a little about my birth mother, but not my father. So then it was up to me to find out as much as I could."

Jesse tells Rachel how he found out the name of his birth mother and how when he went looking for information about her he had discovered that she had been killed in a car accident. Rachel gasps at that bit of information, but Jesse soothes her worries over his feelings by telling her that he had come to terms with never meeting her. He then tells Rachel about all the work he had done to find out about his biological father. He says that finding his biological father was a lot of work and a lot of Shelby's old show choir connections. He intertwines the facts of the story with the emotions that he went through.

"The big break on find him was through a former Vocal Adrenaline member, who was my bio-mom's best friend on the team. He told me about the 1992 regional's where McKinley performed against VA. Neither team had won, so both decided that they would party together. Well my bio-mom and Will got a little drunk and apparently slept together. From what I this guy told me it was a drunken mistake and a little bit of a rebound fuck. Apparently my bio-mom had just broken up with her boyfriend and Will was apparently on a break from his girlfriend and things just happened." Jesse pauses before continuing. "My bio-mom never saw Will after that night apparently and didn't want to, so she never told him that she had gotten pregnant, so Will Schuester doesn't know that he has a soon to be 18 year old son. After I found that out I wasn't so angry at him any more. I realized that he was a kid, who made a drunken mistake one night and we both know how that turns out." He finishes and both think about Quinn. "So that's pretty much everything on how I found out and how I felt about it."

"Jesse I – wow, I don't think I could ever be that brave. I mean you went looking for people who you didn't know anything about, who could have been horrible people but you still wanted to find out."

Jesse knows that with this comment Rachel is showing the vulnerability she feels at not knowing her mother.

"Rach you are brave and one day you might decide that you want to find you mom and when that happens you won't be scared. And if you never do don't be ashamed because you have two wonderful dads who love you more than anything."

Rachel leans up and kisses Jesse. "Just one question how do you know for sure Mr. Schuester is your father? I mean do you have any medical proof?"

"Well remember that day that Mr. Schuester cut himself?" Jesse asks and Rachel nods, "Well I kept one of the bloody tissues and sent it in to this firm that checks blood. They sent back the information a couple weeks ago, confirming that he was in fact my father."

"Ok first that is a little bit disgusting, and second at least you have proof now." Rachel says, before pausing and asking the inevitable, "Are you going to tell him?"

"I want to and I will. I just haven't found the right time and I can't just blurt it out, so I have to find a time when I can just talk to Mr. Schue and let him know what I know."

"Ok. Well when that day comes I want you to know that I will stand by you, no matter what happens."

"Thank you." Jesse says, pulling Rachel up to give her a soft kiss.


	10. NYC

Sunday had been a busy day for Rachel and Jesse. They both agreed that telling Shelby would have to be done so they decided that Friday after glee they would drive to Carmel and Jesse would tell Shelby he's really leaving. They also practiced their Broadway number, found time to fool around with each other and even have dinner cooked for Rachel's dads. Over dinner Jesse asked if Rachel could accompany him to New York for his audition and her dad's agreed, even if they were wary that she would be missing a full week of school. Rachel couldn't even think to care about school when she knew that she was going to be in the greatest city with her boyfriend for a whole week. Before leaving to go back to his uncle's, Rachel and Jesse had performed their duet for her dads and both men had tears streaming down their faces at the two teens that showed so much emotion in their faces and their voices. Rachel and Jesse smiled at each other because that was the exact reaction that they had been hoping for.

The following week had been so much fun for the whole group; even those who weren't crazy about musicals had gotten into the performance and fun aspect of musical theatre. Rachel found it hectic as she tried to collect all her homework and assignments for the following week. But all that went away when the final bell rang and everyone gathered in the auditorium to perform their numbers.

Monday saw Quinn performing first. She had done a spectacular job embodying Roxie Hart and even being 8 months pregnant she pulled off the sexy number and the whole group cheered for her. Tuesday the girls, with the exception of Rachel and Quinn, performed a rather scintillating version of _Big Spender_ that had all the boys drooling and Rachel and Quinn giving everyone dirty looks. Wednesday Brittany and Santana showed the group just how much they had learned in glee and how much they really liked performing by doing an excellent rendition of _Take Me or Leave Me_ from Rent. Thursday the boys did a hilarious version of _The Bitch of Living_; with Artie as Moritz, Puck as Melchior, Finn as Georg, Matt as Otto, Mike as Ernst and Kurt as Hanschen. The number had the club laughing and dancing as the boys had gone all out.

Friday, Rachel and Jesse took to the stage and silently acted out a moment of Eponine being shot and Marius finding her before the music starts in behind them. They both perform the song as if it were the truth and at the end both have their voices cracking and members of the club have tears in their eyes, some falling and some hiding it better than others.

After the club had wipes their eyes from the stirring and emotional performance Jesse and Rachel had given, Jesse announces that he would be missing the following week because he would be in New York auditioning to get into Tisch. Jesse couldn't believe how supportive they were all being. Wishing him luck and telling him that he was bound to get it. Even Finn came up and congratulated him and Jesse thanked him. Jesse is most happy when Will finds him and says how proud he is of Jesse and how he would be willing to write an extra recommendation letter for him. Jesse didn't know how to respond to that so he just hugs Will and thanks him.

On the way to his car Rachel comments on the scene and told Jesse that the time to tell Will the truth might be coming soon. She also told him to hold onto that feeling because he was going to need that strength to talk to Shelby. Jesse says tells Rachel that she's his strength and that's why she is coming with him to the school.

Jesse pulls into the visitor parking at Carmel. He feels weird for a moment, before transferring over to McKinley he always had a prime parking spot that was always left empty for him, now he feels like a stranger in his own school. He takes a deep breath and gets out of the car. Rachel follows him into the school, but stays in the hallway as he goes into Shelby's office.

"Jesse? What're you doing here?" Shelby asks looking up from her papers.

"I came by for a little chat."

"Oh, you missed me. Came by in person to tell me what that little glee club is up to, how sweet."

"Actually Shelby I came by in person to tell you that I'm not going to be spying for you anymore. I'm finished. I'm choosing that team."

Shelby's eyes darken and narrow at Jesse's admission.

"What?"

"I'm not going to be your little puppet anymore Shelby. This whole thing was bullshit from the beginning and seriously in the last two months I have found more heart and joy in singing than I ever did here."

"You know the consequences of what you are doing St. James. You're fucking up your entire future. You know I can crush you with a few quick emails."

"I know," Jesse says looking down at the floor, "but you won't. Because then all your cheating and scheming will come out and you will be the one who is screwed."

Shelby's glare is enough to freeze Jesse to the bone.

"I'm sorry that it's come to this Jesse, but be prepared because I will find a way to crush you and all of your dreams."

Jesse draws his lips into a tight line before nodding his head and leaving the office. He doesn't see Rachel in the hallway, but follows the sound of singing to the auditorium. He finds her hidden in the back watching Vocal Adrenalin rehearse a Lady Gaga number. He places his hand on her back and she nearly jumps. He signals with his head that they should leave and Rachel silently follows him. The minute they get out of the school Rachel start talking.

"I can't believe they are doing Lady Gaga. That is sure to help them win. I mean they had the outfits, the dancing, and the vocals down perfectly and they just had this presence to them that will certainly win over the judges at regional's." She continues on about Lady Gaga and Jesse doesn't say anything about VA's real number.

Rachel notices that Jesse isn't saying anything and she suddenly remembers why they had come to Carmel.

"Oh sorry I forgot to ask, how was the meeting with Shelby?"

"As well as could be expected. She threatened to crush me and my dreams. I know that she can take away UCLA, so I didn't tell her about NYU. That I'll keep to myself." Jesse says with a self satisfied smile.

Rachel is happy that Jesse isn't upset over leaving VA and that he didn't abandon her for his old team.

"Well it looks like I better take you home so you can get all your work done."

"Do you want to come for dinner?"

"No, I'd like to, but I am going to finish my own work. Pick out some pieces for the audition and spend some time with my family." Jesse says. "But I'll come by tomorrow to show you what I picked and you can critique it all you want and then Sunday morning is our flight."

"Oh it's going to be so great. New York here we come." Rachel says, dropping a kiss on Jesse's cheek before getting back into the car.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

Sunday morning Rachel's dads drove the two teens to the airport and waited until the pair of them were beyond the security gates before leaving. Jesse and Rachel were buzzing; it was taking all their energy not to burst into song.

The flight felt longer than it actually was, but the cab ride to the hotel was even longer. Both Rachel and Jesse craned their heads to look out of the windows at everything and to point out everything. The cab pulled up in front of the Hilton and both teens got out. Jesse knew being rich had it perks and staying at an upscale hotel in New York City was one of them. After collecting their luggage, checking in and getting into their room Rachel jumped into Jesse's arms peppering him with kisses and thanks for bringing her to the best city in the world.

After a quick dinner the pair headed to 42nd street and Broadway to see the lights of Times Square. Jesse decides that Rachel should do something a little bad, but not really illegal so he pulls her into a theatre and they second act _A Little Night Music_. Rachel leaves the theatre exhilarated and she can't wait to make a name for herself in this city. That night as she's falling asleep next to Jesse she whispers the song _One Short Day_, thinking the lyrics describe exactly what she's feeling.

Monday Jesse and Rachel fully embody New York City tourists. Checking out the Empire State building, taking photographs at Times Square and taking a walk through Central Park and making a stop at Strawberry Fields. Both teens love their touristy experience and make the most of it by constantly taking pictures, goofing off, getting a little mixed up and constantly using the phrase 'someday when I live here.' That night they go for dinner in Hell's Kitchen, Jesse had made reservations and the two enjoyed a delicious meal. Rachel was most overjoyed with her dessert which was a chocolate mousse cake and Jesse presenting her with two tickets for Wicked on Thursday night.

Rachel practically bounded out of her chair when she saw the tickets. She saved it for when the pair were out of the restaurant. Rachel turns to Jesse and pulls him into a passionate kiss that earns them a catcall and a few raised eyebrows.

"Thanks again for the ticket."

"Your welcome, now hop on." Jesse says turning his back to Rachel and waiting while she clambers up so he can carry her piggy-back style.

Rachel rests her head on Jesse's shoulder as they make their way along the street, reminiscing about their day. Half way back to the hotel Rachel places a kiss on Jesse's neck and whispers in his ear to get her back to the hotel immediately. Jesse stops and hails a cab so that they can make it back to the hotel faster. That night Rachel repays Jesse for bringing her three times, and the two fall asleep together with a sheet draped over them as their bodies cool.

Tuesday is a busy day for Jesse, he spends the majority of the day in an empty room, and that the hotel said he could use, for rehearsing and preparations for Wednesday's audition. Rachel spends the morning out on the streets just wandering. She promised Jesse she would be back in a couple hours after he had rehearsed enough to perform for her. He wanted her opinions and she would give them willingly. Jesse's rehearsing went well into the evening; four years of Vocal Adrenalin training had perfected his body for numerous repetitions of songs and dance numbers. When he finally dropped to the floor in exhaustion Rachel presented him with food and took him back to their room. That night they slept snuggled together, Jesse drawing off of Rachel's warmth to calm him.

Wednesday morning came bright and early for the pair. Both showered and Rachel picked out an outfit for Jesse. They grabbed a cab and headed towards NYU for his audition. When he was finally called in he gave Rachel a kiss and walked into the room with the full confidence of Jesse St. James, the future star. Rachel waited in the hallway outside of the audition room. She closed her eyes and pictured Jesse walking these halls and one day herself being part of this school. The thought makes her sad for a moment because she knows that September will see them separated not just by just school districts but whole states.

The thoughts are immediately pushed from her head when she sees Jesse come out of the room a smile on his face. He rushes to her and spins her. He had nailed the audition. He could see the faces of the members of the panel and they had been impressed, not only with his voice but the emotion behind it and the character he became when they asked him to act out a scene from _Streetcar Named Desire_.

"I think I got it." Jesse whispers to Rachel and the smile she gives him is a bright as the spotlights on the Carmel stage.

That night Jesse also calls his parents and tells them how the audition went. They sound so proud over the phone and Jesse sounds like an excited child. Rachel listens to the conversation and knows that even though Jesse wants to let Mr. Schue know that he is his son, Jesse would have been fine just living and loving his parents. Rachel thinks that she is completely ok with just living and loving her dads.

Thursday Jesse and Rachel wake up late and then decide to do New York City movie moments. They go to Tiffany's for Rachel and Jesse takes a picture of her standing there with a coffee and croissant. Their next stop is FAO Schwartz where they convince the workers to let them recreate the scene from Big for Jesse. At the toy store Rachel buys a board game for her fathers, Jesse purchases a Broadway lights puzzle for his parents, a Beatles version of Trivial Pursuit for himself and a black umbrella covered with gold stars for Rachel; as he gives it to her she let's out a prayer for a little rain.

That night they see Wicked and Rachel sits at the edge of her chair for the entire performance. He watches her, watching the show. Both are spellbound by what they see. Jesse knows one day he will be sitting in an audience in the same edge of your seat manner, watching Rachel perform (though he hopes not for all her productions, he will be performing along side her for at least one). He also knows that he will be missing things like this when the fall comes. He will have to leave Rachel and already the feeling of not seeing her causes a jolt in his chest.

Jesse puts those thoughts out of his mind and thinks about the next two days bliss they will share in the city that never sleeps.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

With Jesse and Rachel gone for the week Will decided to give the rest of the glee club the week off too. Not that he told them to do nothing, just pick out some songs that could be amazing at Regional's. Something fun, group oriented and that can be performed with a lot of heart.

Over the course of the week Will has also been wondering how Jesse has fared at the audition. He hopes that the boy gets everything that he wants because he has never met a young person, with the exception of Rachel, so driven to do something. That week Will also pulls out some of his old glee club stuff. He pulls out ribbons, a stack of photos and programs from competitions and showcases. He flips through some of the photos and finds a stack labelled 1992 Regional's After Party.

There are pictures of the McKinley group with the arms around each other, some candid singing shots and photos of Vocal Adrenalin members who they had partied with that night. Will remembers that party well. He had gotten drunk for the first time. It was junior year and he and Teri had gotten into a huge fight and broken up. He thinks in that moment that they probably should have stayed broken up. He also remembers a girl at the party, a girl who he slept with. He scans the pictures and comes up with a close up one of him with his arm slung across the shoulders of a cheerful faced girl.

He looks at the girl. There is something familiar about her eyes. The shape, the blue colour and the steely determination, they remind him of Jesse's eyes. There are other small features of the girl's face that look like Jesse as well. He then looks down at his own face and almost does a double take. His smile and his defined cheek bones are identical to the teenager who barged into his life because of Rachel.

Will shakes his head, "It's just a coincidence" he says to no one. "People look alike all the time. We just have those faces."

He puts the photographs away and doesn't think of Jesse, the girl he slept with almost 18 years ago (he wore protection, he swears to himself) or glee club.

Friday he holds a brief glee club meeting where everyone presents him with sheet music of all styles and arrangements. He tells the kids he will look over the choices and then see which ones could work best and then from there they could all decide which numbers would be performed.

Sunday night Will is checking his emails when a new one pops up in his inbox.

**St. James is a Spy**

Is the subject line, he doesn't recognize the sender, but it intrigues him so Will opens the email.

**I'm writing this to let you know that your student Jesse St. James former Carmel student and Vocal Adrenalin male lead is a spy.**

**He has been sending emails to Shelby Corcoran over the past few months with details of choreography, music selections and costuming. VA has been using that information to help them prepare for regionals.**

**I hate to have to tell you this.**

**As proof I have attached two emails that Jesse has sent to Shelby.**

**Another thing Jesse is a skilled actor and liar; I wouldn't believe anything he tells you.**

**CS**

Will opens the two attachments as reads the brief emails that had been sent from Jesse. There weren't the details that he was expecting more just general information on musical artists and who was most likely to be given solos. The dates on the attachments are from when Jesse first transferred and Will knows that the emails must have gotten more detailed.

Will slams down the lid of his laptop and curses Jesse. He's pissed; he can't believe that a boy who seemed so right and so good for the club was betraying the team and the girl he claimed to love. What really pissed Will of is the fact that he believed in Jesse, was proud of this boy for going for his dreams. Now all that faded and is replaced by anger.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

Shelby sits back against her chair. She knows she just ruined Jesse's life by sending the anonymous email, but she needed her star back and the only way to do that was to highlight his betrayal to Will Schuester. It would not only ruin the team, but ruin Jesse's real reason for staying at the school. She's happy she sent the emails, she just a little angry that she couldn't send more attachments, but Jesse had put in too many descriptions about how VA should do certain numbers or things he should be working on for VA. It forced Shelby to send his most sparse emails, but she knows that little message will do as much damage as a fully detailed email.

**** Just a note: Thanks for all the great reviews... keep em coming. Sorry for some slow updates i just started a new job, so i've been a little tired. Also i know that the initials at the end of the email are backwards that's done on purpose... showing sort of who its from, but keeps Will from figuring out that shelby sent it.**


	11. The Truth Is

Rachel and Jesse walk the halls of McKinley with a new vigour. After their fantastic week in New York they both vowed to work harder to ensure that they become regular Broadway fixtures and Rachel knew she would have to work to maintain her perfect GPA so she could join Jesse at NYU.

Throughout that Monday a few members of the glee club had come up to Jesse and asked about his audition and the city. There was never enough time to detail everything so promises were made to talk about the trip at the beginning of glee rehearsal.

When the final bell rang Rachel practically sprinted to Jesse's locker. She hadn't seen him since lunch and she wanted to get over to the music room a little early so they could share their week with the group. Jesse sees Rachel coming and closes his locker. He gives her a quick peck and slings his arm around her shoulder as they walk to join the other club members.

The pair walks into the music room and almost everyone is there. Only Puck, Santana and Brittany are missing, but everyone knows they will walk in soon.

"So how was it? Did your audition go amazing?" Mercedes asks as Jesse and Rachel take their seats on the first riser.

"It was an incredible week. And yeah it went really well. I nailed the songs, obviously, and the acting scene was intense and perfect. So now I just have to wait to see if I get into Tisch, but if I don't I'll still be at NYU so I can always audition again." Jesse answers.

"Boy please if they don't say yes then they seriously must have been watching a different audition."

"Thanks Mercedes."

"Ok enough about that," Kurt interrupts, "how was the shopping? See any good fashion choices?"

"We didn't do too much shopping," Rachel says, "But we did go to Saks and seriously Kurt it would be your heaven."

"That's it I'm convincing my dad that this summer we are taking a trip to NYC."

"Anything else exciting happen with you two there?" Finn asks.

Rachel and Jesse then fill in the story of their touristy adventure. Explain how to "second act" a show, to which Puck (who had come in the room with Santana and Brittany at that point) said he, knew that Rachel had a little bad-ass in her. They also show the video of the two of them recreating the giant keyboard scene from Big. Mike and Matt are quite impressed and say that going there would be amazing. From there the talk turns into what the club will do if they get to go to New York for Nationals and if they don't they should all plan a road trip out to the city for week during the summer.

The group is laughing at Rachel and Jesse recreating a dance that the pair had seen when they walked around central park, when Mr. Schuester walks in the room.

"Sit Down!" He says sharply and everyone freezes.

Will had never spoken to the kids in that tone of voice when he saw that they were all getting along, he reserved it for times when cliques and school status threatened to tear the club apart. The kids all look at each other and immediately take their seats.

"I have something to say and it concerns you all and apparently our chances of success at Regional's." Will says and the students all look at each other.

Jesse shoots a scarred look at Rachel, who tightens her grip on his hand.

"Jesse, can you please come here?"

Jesse gets up from his seat and stands next to Will. He doesn't know what's going to happen.

"Now I want you to tell your fellow club members what you've been doing." Will says calmly.

"I – I don't know what you mean." Jesse responds, confused at what Will is making him do.

"Tell them the truth." Will says, his voice firmer and angrier. Jesse just shakes his head in confusion.

"Fine I'll be the one to tell them," Will hisses when Jesse says nothing. "I'll just let them know how you've betrayed them all to Vocal Adrenalin."

Jesse's jaw drops open, he wasn't expecting that. He looks over at Rachel who's biting her lip and trying to offer him comfort through the look in her eyes. The rest of the team just looks confused.

"What do you mean Mr. Schue?" Finn asks.

"Well Jesse here has betrayed us all. He's been sending emails to Vocal Adrenalin about our set lists and everything else we've been doing. Isn't that right Jesse?" Will tells the group and turns to Jesse for a response.

The team is too stunned to say anything, though their faces are slowly turning to anger and accusation. Rachel moves to get up, to join Jesse, but he shakes his head so she stops.

"It's not what you think. I haven't been sending real emails; they've been full of lies."

"Now that is a lie. I was sent attachments from this person from your email with the names of the artists we have been performing."

"I – I –" Jesse stammers out. He knows he's been called out and there is nothing he can do about it.

"What the hell St. James?" Puck yells.

"I told you he was a spy Mr. Schue," Santana adds.

Mercedes and Kurt shoot Rachel dirty looks for ever bringing Jesse to the group and the rest just shout out complaints at Jesse still being in the room.

"I told you I haven't been cheating Vocal Adrenalin doesn't know what songs you are doing," Jesse pleads and Rachel tries to add in her support of Jesse, but is quickly told to shut it by Puck.

Will is getting angrier as he thinks the lies just keep falling from Jesse's lips. He knows that he has put to much work into this group to have it all fall apart because Rachel thinks she's in love and a teenage boy thinks that he can be played.

"What I can't believe is that Vocal Adrenalin would stoop so low as to actually transfer a student here to spy." Will states.

"I wasn't transferred here because – Ok initially I was transferred here to spy, but that's not why I did it and it's not why I've stayed and it's not why I told Shelby I was done with everything."

"Please you're a teenager; no one transfers schools just for a girl, no offense Rachel." Will says to Jesse.

"That's the truth!" Jesse shouts, "I did transfer for Rachel."

"STOP LYING!" Will shouts. "I want the truth. I deserve that much at least. I can't believe that I trusted you and the fact that I supported you and wrote you that letter for NYU, I deserve the truth!"

Jesse takes in a deep breath before the angry look of Will and the team get to him and he snaps out what has been hiding in him since he found out who his father is.

**"****The truth is I'M YOUR SON!"** Jesse yells.

The words fall on the group like a bomb. No one moves in fear that if they do the school will collapse around them. Will is the first to move, his brain catching up to what he just heard. And suddenly he knows why that picture he found scared him and why there was something about Jesse that was so familiar but he could never identify it.

"You're my – but?" Will can't even form a coherent sentence.

"Yeah I'm your son and that's why I stayed, that's why I never betrayed this team to VA. But after what just happened I regret ever making the decision to find out who you were and actually come and meet you."

With that Jesse turns and stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The sound seems to jar the rest of the group. They are still silent. Rachel gets up from her chair and follows after Jesse, she has to make sure he's ok; she knows that he didn't want the truth to come out this way. She just at the door when she hears Will call to her.

"Rachel is it - ?"

"Yeah he's telling the truth Mr. Schue and he never betrayed us." Rachel leaves after.

Will sinks to the piano bench and processes all that has just been revealed. He watches as the rest of the kids leave the music room. He can't concentrate, his thoughts won't focus. So he just sits.

When everyone has finally cleared out of the music room, they still can't believe what they just witnessed. They need don't know what to think or how to take the news or which bit of the information will be more damaging to their chances, the fact that Jesse was spying or the fact that he is Mr. Schuester's son and he now might not want to be part of the club. They are all silent as they head towards the doors, they are about to cross the threshold to the parking lot when Brittany's voice cuts the tension.

"I knew he was Mr. Schue's son."


	12. Avoidance

**sorry it took a little long for the update. i just started a new job so i have been a little busy and a lot tired, leaving me with no energy to write. However i bring to you another up date. After this there are only 3 more chapters.  
So thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed (even more thanks if you've reviewed more than once :D) and for those of you who have just read thanks too.  
I have plans for a few more St. Berry stories - one a continuation of my Clowns 'verse future fic and one that's a little more dark for Jesse  


* * *

**Will can't believe what he had done. He has alienated and humiliated his son. His son. The words sounded foreign and scary on his tongue and in his mind, but there they were unchanging and seemingly true. The moment Jesse had said the words Will knew his world was forever changed.

Will stays in the music room after the rest of the students had shuffled out. He stayed and stared at the spot where minutes, maybe an hour ago he had been yelling at Jesse for being a spy to finding out he had an 18 year old son.

He drops his head into his hands and cries. He cries for the loss of a baby that never existed. He cries for the end of an 18 years long relationship. He cries for the girl who was forced to deal with becoming a mother on her own. He cries for Jesse, who just wanted to know his father and he cries for himself and how he in moments lost something that he never really had, but wanted more than anything, to be a parent.

Will doesn't know how long he's stayed in the music room thinking over the past few months and all the times Jesse had sought (well not out right the boy was to proud for that) his approval, told him about successes he had in classes and even conversations they had about Rachel. At the time Will had thought Jesse was like Finn, looking up to him as a father-figure because theirs were gone. Now he knows that for Jesse it was testing the waters to see if it was worth admitting the truth.

Will is so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't hear Emma walk into the room. He jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Will it's just me." Emma says softly. She let's out an audible gasp at the sight of Will's face. "What's wrong?"

"I screwed up Emma. I screwed up really badly." Will tells her shaking his head.

"What happened?"

"I found out that Jesse was a spy," Emma looks shocked. She had seen Jesse in the halls with Rachel and she had talked to him when he first transferred and he was a sweet kid if a little arrogant, he was self assured and seemingly honest Emma thought.

"What do you mean he's a spy?"

"Well I got an email that proved he had been sending info about our club back to the coach of Vocal Adrenalin. And then I did something stupid. I confronted him about it in front of the whole group. I was so angry that I didn't stop to think how inappropriate it was or how it would affect everyone, especially me and Jesse."

Emma looks confused at the last sentence. Will sees the confusion and takes a deep breath before telling her the truth.

"In the middle of the fight I urged Jesse to tell the truth about why he decided to transfer and he – he admitted – well he said that he is my son."

"Your son?"

"Yeah, my son."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. He left so upset, he looked like he hated me." Will says his voice cracking. "I don't think he'll want to see me again."

Emma looks around the room gathering her thoughts before finding the right words to calm Will and maybe provide him with hope.

"Well the way you handled the spying was completely idiotic Will, but I think that is the least of your problems now. I think you are going to have to find a way to talk to Jesse. Although having spoken to him a few times, I think you might have to give him a few days. And I think you should take a few days as well to gather your thoughts and make sure that you know what you want to say to him."

"Yes, yes." Will nods, "thanks Emma."

Emma stands and places her hand on his shoulder, Will reaches up and gives it a squeeze before standing and following her out of the room. Will is going to give Jesse the space he needs, Will just hopes that Jesse will come around and talk to him.

*Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee**Glee*

Through out the week Jesse avoided the music room, walking past the Spanish office or anywhere that he could possibly run into Will. After his outburst on Monday Jesse knew he wasn't ready to face his father yet, but he couldn't miss classes as he had presentations and tests. He wasn't as upset any more, but he still felt betrayed; betrayed at the fact that Will confronted him in front of the class instead of coming to him privately to discuss the email.

_Rachel had comforted him on Monday. _

"_Jesse?" Rachel asked knocking on the driver's side window of Jesse's car._

_Jesse turns his head to look at Rachel. He's pressing his lips together tightly and Rachel sees that he is trying not to let the tears that have collected in his eyes fall. Rachel pulls open the driver's door and pushes Jesse over to the passenger seat. She is going to drive him home. The drive is silent, both trying to gather their thoughts. When Rachel pulls up in front of Jesse's house, he squeezes her hand and gives her a grateful smile that she didn't take him to his uncle's._

_The minute the two are on Jesse's bed he breaks down. He doesn't sob or do the dramatic crying he has perfected for some future acting role. It's silent with his head in his hands and his body shaking slightly. Jesse is releasing all the frustrations of the day out and the pain and the humiliation he suffered in front of the club. _

_At this Rachel pulls him into her arms. His head settles on her chest and she can feel his tears. She slowly moves the back so that she is reclining against his headboard and he lying along her side hugging her torso to him and his head pillowed on her stomach._

"_I'm sorry Jesse." Rachel says when she feels him still. She's not apologizing for herself but she doesn't know what else to say._

"_Me too." Jesse responds and the brokenness of the word is haunting. Rachel knows that the apology isn't for spying, but it is Jesse's own regret of ever finding out who he really came from._

_The pair is silent from then on. Just drawing on the quiet warmth they are providing_.

She had stayed with him at his house in case he needed to talk more. He didn't, the two had sat curled up in his bed watching movies. Tuesday morning Jesse gave Rachel a folder containing all the emails and told her to show them to their fellow glee club members. She questioned him at this and he said it was a way to prove his innocence in the matter and to prove to their club that he wasn't going to abandon them for VA.

So in his avoidance of Will Schuester, Jesse had the other glee members coming up to him and apologizing. A few thanked him for not really spying on their club and for sticking with their club. Puck and Quinn all had questions about being adopted and what it felt like for him when he found out about his birth parents. He told them that he just wanted to know the truth, but that he never felt like his birth mother abandoned him, and that he never questioned not being wanted because his parents – even though left him alone for long periods of time – loved him, supported him and were proud of him. Jesse knew with his response he was calming some of the fears they had about giving up their daughter.

Brittany's response was the only one that was a little shocking. She had proudly been telling everyone that she could, "Like read people's minds and tell the future," because she knew before everyone else that Jesse was Mr. Schue's son. Then again it wasn't so much shocking to everyone as it was a little puzzling that one girl could really be so clueless, but she was so earnest in her belief that everyone smiled and let her get away with such comments.

Unknown to Jesse at the time Rachel had decided that she would try and talk to Mr. Schue about Monday.

"Mr. Schue can I speak with you?" Rachel asks, knocking on the partially open office door.

"Yeah, come in." Will says and Rachel seats herself across from him.

"I know that you know why I'm here. It's about Jesse and what happened on Monday."

"Of course," Will says, "How is Jesse?"

"He's still a little angry, he's confused and I think he is a little disappointed at how the truth about everything came out." Rachel tells Will. "I mean that's the second time he blurted out the truth in the middle of a fight."

Will gives Rachel a confused look at this and she continues.

"I had overheard that he was spying on our group or something along those lines and I confronted him and in the middle of our own fight he admitted that he was your son."

"Oh. So you knew about the spying and you didn't say anything? Or do anything?"

"Well he sent me every single copy of the emails he had been sending to Shelby, it proved that he hadn't been spying on us, not really. And we talked about it and we were planning on telling the club and you about it when we got back form New York because Jesse had finally cut all ties with Shelby, but you kind of beat him to the punch." Rachel says and then hands Will the folder with all the emails, "Here, this is every single email Jesse sent to Shelby with about our club."

Will flips through some of the pages and sees that there are no titles of the songs the group has been working on or anything really resembling what the club had been working on.

"Thanks Rachel."

"About the other thing…"

"I'm still in shock over that truth Rachel. I'm 34 and have a 17 year old son that I didn't know about until fours days ago. And how can I be sure that it's even the truth."

"I think you should talk to Jesse about that sir."

Will just nods and Rachel turns to her teacher and says,

"He wants to talk with you. He just wants to know you. More than just as a teacher. I'm going to convince him to come to glee club on today, so maybe by then you can think of a way to talk with him."

"Thanks Rachel." Will replies as Rachel lets herself out of the office.

By that afternoon Rachel had convinced Jesse to come to glee so that they can come up with a plan for regionals. They both know that the group is going to need a head start on rehearsing if they want to stand a chance against the powerhouse that is Vocal Adrenalin (they were still the best without Jesse because all had been trained to take over each other's roles with a moments notice).

Jesse hesitates outside of the door to the music room. He can see that everyone is inside. He takes a steadying breath and strides in full of confidence. Everyone greets him with a smile and he takes his place next to Rachel who fits her hand into his, squeezing. Jesse can't bring himself to look at Mr. Schuester, but he can feel the teacher's eyes on him. The room is silent everyone waiting to see what will happen, Jesse had been prepared for this so he stands and faces the group.

"So as you all know now I am fully committed to this team, I don't mean to sound all judgemental," Jesse says and is cut off by Finn.

"You do mean to though St. James."

"Ok maybe I do. But back to the point we are not yet at the level to beat Vocal Adrenalin. So nothing against the way things are done here but I have been training all my life to be the best and I think it's time that we here did too. I think we need to pick our numbers and start practicing them so that when it comes time to take that stage we will blow the judges away. I know that Rachel will be the only one to agree with me out loud, but deep down you all know that what I'm saying is true."

Though they didn't want to have to admit it a few nodded in agreement with Jesse's statement. Will just gave a proud smile at the boy for taking charge of the group, telling them what they needed to hear and yet keep the insults and very harsh criticisms to a minimum.

"Now before you all bombard me with suggestions for songs I just have to let you know that I did know what Vocal Adrenalin was going to perform. I don't if they are going to stick with the same number; they might because unlike here in VA anyone is replaceable."

"What are they performing St. James?" Puck asks and Jesse knows he can't give out the song but he can point them in the right direction.

"I can't tell you, but let's just say that the band they've chosen is the head of a Monarchy."

Some members of the group look at Jesse with blank looks, while Quinn, Rachel, Tina, Artie, Will and Kurt just roll their eyes. When no one says anything Kurt blurts out,

"It's Queen everybody. Seriously does anybody pay attention in class? I think you should unless you want to stay here in Ohio and be a Lima loser. No offense."

"If they are going to be doing Queen, we are going to need something epic, something to throw down with." Mercedes says and every one murmurs out a few songs that they have performed that could work.

"I have a suggestion that I think could work perfectly. The first song that the club performed together was _Don't Stop Believing_ and I think we should use that. I mean it is what got us to this point and since we didn't get to perform it at sectionals I think we could use it now." Finn says and everyone agrees.

Jesse writes the song up on the white board as a definite performance number. He tells them that they are going to need a dance number as VA is going to include some heavy choreography and that if they can find a song that has a strong beat.

"I think if they are doing Queen we should show that we can as well, but better." Santana says.

"Could work," Will agrees.

"Well then what about _Don't Stop Me Now_? It kind of keeps with the theme of not stopping something and then fades out into the end so we could seamlessly transfer into _Don't Stop Believing_." Artie says, "And it's fast enough to have some good dance steps."

"Well what does everyone think?" Will asks and the kids all agree that that song will be performed. Jesse writes it on the board ahead of _Don't Stop Believing_ to show the order of the songs.

"What are we going to do as a ballad then?" Finn asks.

"We could do that Aerosmith song?" Will throws out.

"Veto!" Rachel automatically says before anyone has a chance to agree.

"I'm with Rachel on this one Mr. Schue veto." Kurt says.

Jesse then decides to throw out a suggestion from his favourite band, "We could do _Don't Let Me Down_ by The Beatles. We could slow the arrangement down and then to cut it short we get rid of the third verse and go straight into Queen. And the good thing with this song for the chorus everyone could join in to give it more power."

"So are you going to solo the ballad?" Will asks.

"Well I was hoping that Rachel could take the second verse and then the final chorus I hold the 'don't let me down' as someone starts in with the opening lyrics of 'tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time'" Jesse answers.

"I think we have our set list Mr. Schue." Quinn says and Will nods.

"I guess that's it for today guys. I'll see what I can do for vocal arrangements and on Monday we can start deciding where solos should go and who does what." Will says, "Thanks everyone."

The kids start picking up their bags and Will walks over to Jesse.

"Do you think you can stay behind for a few minutes?" Will asks and Jesse nods.

Rachel stays with Jesse until there are only the three of them left in the music room. She gives his hand a squeeze and with her eyes tells him that she will be waiting outside for him. Will and Jesse are left in the room and the awkward tension surrounds them. Will clears his throat before taking on the role of the adult.

"I'm sorry about what happened on Monday Jesse. I know that I acted inappropriately and that I was wrong to have gone after you like that in front of the entire club."

Jesse just nods in response.

"I think what makes it even worse is what it forced you to reveal even though you weren't ready. And shocking as it was to me, I believe you. So I was wondering if you would want to come over for dinner. It would give us a chance to talk, away from the school and everything glee."

"I would like that a lot." Jesse says.

"Ok, so tonight at around 7?"

"Sounds good." Jesse says and Will hands him a paper with his address. "I'll see you then. Thanks Mis—" Jesse doesn't know what to call Will, "Thanks."

Jesse walks out of the room; he doesn't know what he's feeling. All he knows is that he is finally going to be able to share his life with his father.


	13. Dinner and a Show

Jesse knocks on the apartment door. He had stood out in the hallway debating whether or not to call Rachel back to have dinner as well, but he knew this was something he had to do alone. When the door opens Jesse gives Will a tentative smile and he knows that he will have the strength to get through this night.

"Hey Jesse. Come in," Will says opening the door to welcome Jesse into his apartment.

"Thanks Mr. Schue." Jesse says standing in the entranceway.

"So I didn't know what you liked to eat so I just ordered a pizza with some salads."

"That's fine."

Both men just stand. They have questions burning at the tips of their tongues yet neither knows where to start. It's awkward, but both knew that it would be until everything or most things got brought out into the open.

"I've set everything up in the living room, I hope that's ok. I just thought eating at the dining room table might just be a little too formal."

Jesse just responds with a small chuckle and follows Will into the living room sitting down on the opposite couch. He grabs a slice of pizza and takes a bite before speaking, Jesse knows that for anything to get said he is going to have to prompt the initial questions.

"I know that you have questions and I do to, but I have had a lot longer to find answers and come to terms with this. So go ahead and ask whatever you want about how I found out that I was your son."

"Maybe start that from the beginning and I guess if I have any questions I can always just ask, because I would first like to hear the story of how you found all this out, because I had no clue that you existed, well apart from the fact that you were the lead of Vocal Adrenalin."

Jesse starts his story from the moment he discovered he was adopted. He tells Will how he sat his parents down and asked them point blank about it. Jesse makes sure to tell Will that even after he found out that his biological parents were teenagers and that even though it seemed that his biological father never knew about him, Jesse held no resentment because his mom and dad made sure he wanted for nothing and they love him. Jesse continues on with how long it took him to find his biological mom.

"What happened after you found her? Did you go meet her?" Will asks and Jesse averts his gaze.

"I never had the chance to meet her. After I found her name I looked her up, she and her family moved out of state and then she was killed in a car accident."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine; I just do kind of wish that I had the chance to meet her." Jesse says truthfully.

"Did you know what she looked like?" Will asks and Jesse nods, "Hang on a second."

Will leaves Jesse alone in the living in the room and goes into his bedroom. He returns with the photo of him and that girl. He hands the photo to Jesse.

"I think this might be her."

"It is. Wow I can't believe there is actually a picture of the two of you together."

"It's yours if you want it."

Jesse gives a Will a bright smile and thanks him. Will urges Jesse to continue on with the story and Jesse does. He details the phone conversation he had with the former Vocal Adrenalin member and how that was when he found out about Will.

"After I found out your name I looked you up and then I tried numerous times to come and see you but I always backed out. I saw you once at our invitational and then I was at your sectionals, but you weren't there and that's sort of how I met Rachel. I was on my way to try and come meet you but then I stopped half way and ran into Rachel at the music store."

"So you weren't sent to spy on us originally?"

"No. It was actually kind of you fault that the spying started. I had planned on keeping mine and Rachel's relationship a secret, but then you told Shelby and she hatched the _brilliant_ scheme. But I knew that I didn't want to destroy your club so I lied to Shelby."

"Thanks for that. It really does mean a lot." Will tells Jesse. "I do have one very important question and it's not that I don't believe you, and most things add up, but how can we be so sure that I am your father?"

"Well there is this company that does tests of that kind. All they require is a blood sample. So I sent them mine and then yours as well, which I got from that time you cut yourself during glee. I got the results back. I have it here so you can see for yourself."

Jesse pulls out a folded sheet from his jacket pocket and hands it to Will. Will takes in the figures and the results and Jesse watches as the man in front of him breaks down in to tears. Jesse is frozen to his seat; he doesn't know how to comfort his teacher in this situation.

"Are you ok?" Jesse asks as Will regains some of his composure.

"Yeah, it's just all this is very overwhelming. I find that I don't know what to feel. I know that I am happy, but there are so many other feelings that I can't even describe."

"I know what you mean. It is very daunting, if you want I can go and you can come to terms with all this."

"No, no, stay. I want to learn more about you."

"Ok."

Will sits back down across from Jesse and the pair talks about their lives. Jesse tells Will about his years of performing and Will tells Jesse about his years in the WMHS glee club back in the 90's. They talk sports, both love hockey though neither cheer for the Blue Jackets. They talk musicals, cars and a little about family. The topic then makes it way to relationships. Jesse tells Will the truth about his feelings for Rachel. Will smiles at the love falling from Jesse's lips and Will hopes and can see that Jesse and Rachel will make it. He does offer a little bit of advice on high school relationships in relation to his failed marriage with Teri.

After finishing the pizza both can see that the night is coming to a close.

"Thanks for having me over Mr. Schue."

"You can call me Will outside of school Jesse. I mean I don't expect you to call me dad or anything, but Will is a good start. And I hope you know that if you ever need anything from me or want to talk I'll be here. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to get to know you and I know I can't take the place of your dad, but if you let me I'd like to maybe one day be another father figure."

"I'd like that too Will." Jesse says and the happiness that fills him causes him to hug Will. "I actually do have a favour to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Well I've been volunteering with a kids show choir and they have a competition coming up in next weekend and it would mean a lot if you could come and if you wouldn't mind, maybe we could get the club to perform and use it like a warm up for regional's."

"I wouldn't miss it and having our club perform in front of an audience should do them good."

"Good night Will." Jesse says as he steps through the door.

"Good night Jesse."

The minute the door closes between the two each think how wonderfully the night had gone. They had talked, they bonded and though they both knew they had a lot of ground to cover in terms of building a father/son relationship they both knew that this was the start of something that was going to change both of them and they were both very happy about that.

Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee* Glee*

The week following Jesse and Will's dinner had been busy for the entire club. They were working on their numbers for regionals, but also rehearsing two older numbers for the show choir competition. When the group grumbles about having to rehearse those numbers as well Jesse just tells them to trust him and that those numbers were just fun to practice and it got the group out of worrying about Vocal Adrenalin.

Jesse and Will also spent time together, mostly at school because it was easiest and anything awkward could be ended by the excuse of class or having to leave. Because even though that first dinner had gone well, there were still years and uncertainty that needed to be slowly crossed before they got out of that awkward stage. The one time that week that they did meet outside of school was when Will had some of the guys over to watch hockey playoffs. What surprised some of the members of the club that Jesse knew the rules of hockey and got so into the game.

"Shit St. James you know your hockey." Puck says impressed.

"Well I'm more than just a pretty face and an awesome singer." Jesse retorts.

"Yeah you're also a total drama queen." Finn throws out and the guys all toss in some 'ohs'.

Jesse laughs along with the guys before jokingly jerseying a seated Finn. Which causes everyone to laugh and Will to tell them to stop. Finn shoots Jesse a confused look and Jesse tells the group that he's played hockey for years and that if he hadn't gone out for VA when he was a freshman he would have joined the hockey team. Which for the guys is impressive and gives them motive to maybe play a game of shinny.

Jesse stays after the game to help clean up and Will asks about Jesse's home life. He tells Will that he does get some of his acting chops from his parents. He tells Will that though it seems that his parents are not involved in his life they actually know everything that Jesse is up to and has accomplished. He says that they will be home just after regionals and that they want to meet Will. Will agrees saying that he would be honoured to meet the parents who raised such a talented and wonderful son.

By the time Saturday came the group was ready to perform. Jesse is practically bursting with energy both for performing and for his kids. Jesse's group is the third out of five to perform. The McKinley glee club is sitting at the back of the auditorium and before his group performs Jesse sneaks his head out and Rachel gives him a wave.

"Ok guys, this is what you've worked for. Now go out there and show them your talent, your drive and most importantly show them your heart." Jesse tells the anxious group of kids before the announcer calls them to take their places.

The kids perform _Season's of Love_ and _We Are Golden_ almost flawlessly. Well to everyone in the audience it is flawless, Rachel and Jesse with their superior training notice small missteps and only one or two fluffed notes. After a strong finish of _We Are Golden_ the kids take their positions for their last number. Chris stands in front of his group and his soft voice breaks the silence with the opening of _Hey Jude_. As the song progresses Jesse has tears in his eyes. His kids have done it and brought the emotion to the number. He feels a set of arms wind their way around his waist and he turns to find Rachel hugging him. She knows what this song means to him, he told her in New York and she knew instinctively that he would need her. Jesse drops a kiss to her head in thanks and the two sway to the end of the song.

The audience bursts into applause and give Jesse's kids a stand ovation. The kids run off the stage and into Jesse and Rachel's waiting arms for a massive group hug. Jesse wipes away a tear as he tells the kids how proud he is of them and how much of an honour it has been to coach them. The small group makes its way back to the choir waiting rooms while the remaining two groups perform. Rachel and Jesse smile as they listen to the group talk about how they 'kicked ass' and 'they are totally gonna win this.'

The pair is soon joined by New Directions all of whom congratulate Jesse and a few tell Will that he might have to watch out for his job.

"That was amazing Jesse. They were wonderful." Will says giving Jesse a hug, which the teenager returns with enthusiasm.

The last two choirs perform and the MC tells the audience,

"It is time for the judges to deliberate and as a treat for the crowd we have invited the show choir from William McKinley High School to perform. In fact Jesse St. James, of their members, is the coach of one of the kids choirs. At 17 he is the youngest coach here today. Let's give a round of applause for New Directions."

ND takes the stage and wow the crowd with _Like a Prayer_ and _Hello Goodbye_. The audience eats it up and by the end everyone is bouncing along to the music and having a good time. The club is loving it, they all feed off the energy of the audience and it makes their performance that much stronger.

After ND's performance the kid's choirs and their coaches are called to the stage to hear the winners. Jesse stands behind his group of kids; all have their heads down as the second and third place finishers are announced. In the wings New Directions and Will stand with fingers crossed as the judge announces that Jesse and his group of kids have taken first place. The scene on the stage is euphoric. The kids jump up and down, hug each other, and hug Jesse; Lindsay runs over and pulls Rachel onto the stage so that she can get her thanks as well. As the cheering dies down a little the MC asks if New Directions wants to perform again, Jesse shrugs and the team walks onto the stage as a sure sign of a yes.

"Do you guys know the words to _Twist and Shout_?" Jesse asks and most of the group nods, almost all of them have seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off. "Ok then let's just have fun with it."

Jesse tells the band and the song starts up. New Directions and Jesse's kids have become a mixed group on the stage and are dancing and laughing as Jesse rocks out like a young John Lennon. He even encourages the audience dancing and a few of the grandparents in the crowd get up and do the twist. It is the perfect way to end the show. A happy audience and an ecstatic group of performers on stage.

No one notices the lone figure that sneaks out the door before the number finishes. Shelby walks out to her car with the satisfaction that she has scouted future talent for VA and that she knows at least two of the songs that ND will be performing. She doesn't know that she just got played because Jesse knew she would be there and that is why he had convinced ND to go with songs that they weren't going to use at regionals. If anything this performance had prepared New Directions for anything that Vocal Adrenalin could throw at them.


	14. Regional's Party

Jesse bounds into the choir room, his hands holding tightly to a white envelope.

"Will! Will!" Jesse calls out and Will comes out from the small office.

"Yeah Jesse what is it?"

"I got this," Jesse shows him the envelope from Tisch, "this morning and I wanted to open it, but I thought maybe I would share it with you and Rachel, when she finally gets here."

Will beams at the fact that Jesse wanted to share this big part of his life with him. Since the kids show choir competition Jesse and Will had spent time together on weekends and Jesse was almost always talking about NYU and his hope to get his acceptance from Tisch. For Will he hoped this moment was the first of many of him being part of Jesse's life. Will is about to tell Jesse to open the letter when Rachel rushes in through the open door.

"What's so urgent Jesse?" Rachel asks and Jesse holds up the envelope and Rachel smiles.

Rachel stands next to Will and watches as Jesse slowly opens the envelope. Rachel and Will watch as Jesse scans the letter, both wish at this moment Jesse wasn't such a good actor, hiding the response written on the page.

Jesse lifts his head to look at the pair staring expectantly at him. He knew that he was torturing them by not giving them anything. He slowly breaks his face into a grin and he lets his emotions flow through his face. His excitement, his happiness and his pure joy shine in his eyes. Rachel has an open mouthed smile and lets out a disbelieving laugh before jumping into Jesse's arms. He spins her once before attacking her lips with his own.

The sound of Will clearing his throat breaks them apart. Jesse puts Rachel down and after Will congratulates him Jesse pulls him into a hug.

"Thank you so much Will. For the letter, for everything."

"You're welcome Jesse and you deserved it."

Jesse gives Will a smile brighter than any show face and Will returns it. The bell rings signalling the start of class and Rachel and Jesse make their way towards the door, slowly, as if they both dreaded the day. Will shakes his head and gives a small chuckle.

"You know you two both look sick, I think you should go home. We don't want the other students getting sick." Will calls to them.

Jesse and Rachel turn back to Will and give him a smile, before running out of the school to enjoy their free day.

*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

The cheers of the crowd fill the auditorium and the ears of New Directions as they sing out the last notes of _Don't Stop Believing._ The group is left panting on stage, with remaining adrenalin and pride filling their veins. The group bows and run off the stage before the applause dies down. Will meets them in the wings and the group rushes through the halls back to their dressing room. Tina makes a comment about thinking they have second place on lock and Rachel with her unfailing optimism tells her that the team is going to win.

Shelby stands fuming at the back of the auditorium. She can't believe the performance that New Directions gave. What they had just done was not what she had been expecting. She thought that she had a lock on their performance numbers, not only from what she had seen at the choir competition but from what some jock at McKinley had told her about what the club had been practicing. She had changed her whole set list to match ND's artists, but perform it with much more perfection and theatricality. Now the direct comparison between the two choirs would be lost, even though she was mad Shelby knows that VA can take down ND.

New Directions is laughing and talking in the dressing room, waiting for the MC to call the groups back to the stage to announce the winners. No one but Rachel notices that Jesse sneaks out of the room. She watches him go, but doesn't follow him, she knows that he needs to watch his former 'family' perform on his own.

Jesse slides in to the back of the auditorium as Vocal Adrenalin takes to the stage. Their mere presence on the stage fills the crowd with energy, an energy that Jesse always loved creating. The music starts and Jesse sucks in a breath. VA was on; they danced harder, sang louder and moved as if their whole existence depended on it. Jesse figures that it probably is, without him VA is amazing but he would have put them over the edge to epic. He watches the nearly flawless performance, but he feels no regret. He knows that he made that right decision to stay with ND and his father.

Jesse sneaks back out of the auditorium before VA finishes their set and bumps directly into Shelby.

"Shelby." Jesse says with a cold voice.

"St. James. Regret staying with that rag tag group of less than stellar singers?"

"Not in the least. Because even though Vocal Adrenalin is good, we beat you today because we perform with honesty and heart."

"Your group might perform with that, but Vocal Adrenalin performs with a perfection that can not be denied."

"Keep telling yourself that Shelby, but it's not going to last. New Directions is poised to topple you this year."

"I don't think so St. James. But I guess since you are going to be stuck in Ohio, with UCLA no longer wanting you, maybe one day you can hope to capture some glory and get the hell out of this state." Shelby says, rubbing in Jesse's face that he isn't getting out of Ohio.

"They aren't losers Shelby and you know what I didn't need UCLA or your help. I got into Tisch so I am getting the hell out of this state and I'm happy that I am graduating from McKinley surrounded by people who actually love me. So this is goodbye Shelby."

Jesse turns on his heel, leaving his former coach standing dumbfounded in the lobby of the theatre. He returns to ND's dressing room and envelops Rachel in a hug. She feels him relax into her embrace and she knows that what he witnessed was hard for him. He whispers in her ear that even if the judges don't agree they won today.

When the results are finally revealed Vocal Adrenalin takes the competition. New Directions places second. The team is ecstatic, they get to keep glee and they get to face VA again at nationals. Although they would have been a lot happier if they had beaten Vocal Adrenalin. In honour of their placing at regionals, Jesse invites the team over to his parent's house for a massive party.

The party starts off as a more laidback affair as Will and Emma both joined the group at Jesse's house for a dinner of pizza and pop. It was a way to thank both teachers for supporting the group and to let them join in the celebration. However Will and Emma leave just before 9 and the party turns rowdy.

Jesse opens the bar in his basement and beers and coolers are passed around the group. Jesse even opens one of the many bottles of sparkling wine as a champagne substitute, passing around drinks to everyone and giving Quinn a glass of ginger ale. Jesse turns on the sound system that is connected through the main rooms in the house and blasts music. Mercedes, Brittany, Santana, Mike and Matt create a makeshift dance floor and grind and sway to the music. Puck, Artie, Finn and Jesse rock out on Beatles Rockband, while Quinn, Tina, Rachel and Kurt sit on the couch discussing the costumes of the other groups and occasionally harmonizing along with the music playing.

As the night progresses everyone, with the exception of Quinn, has gotten more and more drunk. As dancing and Rockband were abandoned for 'I never' and flip cup. Jesse notices Quinn sitting on the couch watching her friends and giving out a little yawn. He walks over and drops down beside her.

"You can take the master bedroom if you want." Jesse says and Quinn shoots him a quizzical look. "I mean you look a little tired and I figured you would be the least likely to let anything happen to my parents room, so whenever you want just go up and sleep. You can lock the door behind you so no one will bother you."

"Thanks Jesse." Quinn says and gives the older boy a hug.

Quinn yawns again and Jesse gives her a laugh, before helping her off the couch. He leads her to the stairs and is telling her where everything is in the upstairs linen closet when Finn joins them.

"Jesse man, thanks for throwing this party."

"No problem. Ok well goodnight Quinn, I'm going to see if I can tear my girlfriend away from that game of flip cup. Finn I'll see you later." Jesse says before walking off to the rest of the party.

"You're going to bed?" Finn asks and Quinn nods. "Do you mind if I walk you upstairs I think we should maybe talk?"

"That'd be great."

Finn and Quinn head up the stairs leaving the rest of the party in full swing in the living room and kitchen.

The group slowly mellows out around two in the morning. Everyone has either been pointed to a guest room or taken over couches and fallen asleep. Jesse pulls Rachel into his arms and carries her to his bedroom. Having stopped drinking around midnight Rachel is still a little tipsy, but coherent enough to carry on a conversation with Jesse as he carries her.

"I wanted to ask you earlier, but it never seemed like the right moment, when we were at the competition did you run into Shelby?"

"Yeah." Jesse answers as he places Rachel down on his bed, the look on her face telling him to elaborate. "I didn't watch the entire VA set and as I snuck out I bumped into her. She made some shit comments about our group and then she tried to throw the fact that she took the UCLA scholarship away from me, but I was able to stun her by telling her I got into Tisch. And then I pulled a great exit."

Rachel lets out a small giggle, before wriggling out of her jeans, pulling off her top and grabbing one of Jesse's black shirts from his chair and slipping it on. Jesse smiles at the simple action that he has seen numerous times in his and Rachel's relationship and his heart swells. It is that simple action that solidifies his feelings that he made the right choice.

"I love you Rachel." Jesse whispers and Rachel stops her motions to get under the covers.

She looks at him and grin breaks across her face. She immediately stands on the bed and flings herself into Jesse's arms.

"I love you Jesse St. James."

Jesse slides his hand into Rachel's hair and pulls her in for a bruising kiss. Rachel pulls Jesse back on top of her onto the bed and the rest of the night is spent in a mixture of sleep and moments of blissful passion.

Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

With the team placing at regional's work was started almost immediately on what the group would do for Nationals. Though the group was stressed, they all realized that this was going to be the first of many trips to Nationals and that along with trying to be as amazing as VA they should just have fun with the number. There was a little freak out over Jesse's ability to perform with club since the competition would be taking place a week after graduation, however Will checked with the show choir board and as long as the student had performed at regional's and graduated that spring they were still eligible for participation at nationals.

In that time Jesse's parents came home from their trip through the south Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. Jesse was so excited to see his parents again and they were just as excited to see their only child and to be there for his graduation.

Jesse waited a week before telling his parents that he found his biological father. He did it over a celebratory dinner that his parents organized for his acceptance into Tisch, a pre-graduation dinner. He had shocked his parents into silence, before his mother gave him a gentle smile and Jesse told them the whole story about Will, how he had found out about him and then the numerous times he had almost gone to meet him and then how he finally did. His story included Shelby, spying and of course his love for Rachel. He laced his explanation with his emotions and his own commentary and by the end he saw the tears glimmering in his parents eyes. The minute his monologue ended his dad decided that they needed to meet both Will and Rachel. Jesse tells his parents that he will organize it.

That's how after Jesse's graduation, Jesse parents, Rachel and Will find themselves at Jesse's home sitting around the dining room table talking about the glee club, Will's life, Rachel's dreams and the future. The chat is light, funny and flows, the awkward pauses that Jesse thought would be there are few. At one point Jesse grows silent and watches his 'family', it warms him and he can't keep the enormous grin from his face.

"Happy?" Rachel whispers into Jesse's ear.

"Incredibly," Jesse responds and presses to Rachel's temple.

The two teens are interrupted by Jesse's father clearing his throat and both look sheepishly at the adults. Jesse decides that it is actually the perfect moment for a few words.

"I always knew how lucky and how loved I was growing up. It fuelled my talent, my desire and my passion. And Mom, Dad I thank you for that." Everyone raises a glass to the St. James's, before Jesse continues. "Although I had that there was always something missing. I knew part of what was missing was knowing who my biological parents were and though I can't ever meet my mother I am glad to have met and gotten to know you Will. Even in these short months you have taught me a lot about heart, love and myself. I thank you for everything and I hope that this is the beginning of a great friendship. Lastly this thing that was missing the most was someone to share all of this with and Rachel that's what you've become. I love you and I know that I have found in you someone who will stand beside me and share my dreams."

Rachel squeezes Jesse's hand at the kind words and mouths 'I love you too' back to him.

"So thank you to all of you at this table you mean so much to me and I have no words to describe what it means to me to have you all in my life."

Jesse finishes and those seated around the table raise their glasses in cheers and thanks. Jesse knows that though he is going off to New York in September and once again his parents will be going overseas for some kind of business trip and Will and Rachel will be in Lima this makeshift family of his will always be there for him and he can't wait for the next chapter in his life to begin.


	15. NYU Endings

**This is the end of this story. I hope that you all like the end. I kind of suck with endings... especially this one because the truth is this story could literally just continue on until the death of the characters... but i didn't want that, so i ended it like i did.  
Thanks to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed this story. I really means a lot to me to know that i wasn't just writing for no one.  
I have a few new ideas for stories: 1 - is centered as a sequel to my St. Berry story Clowns; 2 - involves a darker tone, with some beatings, angst and sadness; 3 - involves a baby... whose i don't know. However all will be St. Berry, so i hope you enjoy those as well.  
Cheers FTB  


* * *

**

Nationals was not an entire let down for New Directions. Though they didn't topple Vocal Adrenalin from the top of the podium they were once again able to clinch second place, which did cause some of the members of Vocal Adrenalin to fear for the safety of their position as the greatest show choir in the country.

All of New Directions love being in New York for the big competition. Even Quinn, who was still feeling a little melancholy after giving up her baby, was all bubbly and happy. Most of the group suspects that it has to do with her and Finn getting back together. All the members tell Jesse to be expecting them to crash at his place when they come to visit. Jesse laughs at their comments, though he knows that he would let them stay because they all have made him feel welcome. Rachel just listens to the comments with a sad look in her eyes, which she quickly covers when ever Jesse glances her way.

The summer between graduation and first year is hectic, lazy, fun and boring. Jesse on some days has nothing to do, while others he's so busy with school stuff or out with Rachel – including a few double dates with Finn and Quinn – that it feels as if he is going to collapse from exhaustion. Jesse also makes time to visit with Will at least once a week. They get together to watch baseball, talk about New York, just sometimes hanging out and talking, both finding it easy to fall into a routine that makes bonding easy and not at all awkward.

It's the last week of summer that proves to be the worst. Rachel and Jesse are hanging out beside his pool, after his going away party, and looks at him with tears in her eyes and says,

"I think we should take a break."

"What?" Jesse sputters.

"I know that I don't want this to be over and that it is killing me to say this but I think that we should take a break and be friends for a while."

"Why Rachel?" Jesse asks and she can hear the tears in his voice.

"Well you are going off to school and I'm going to be stuck here and I want you to have fun to experience it all and not worry about me here in Lima. So I know that this hurts but I think that we need this, I couldn't live with myself if I knew that I was keeping you from fully experiencing the college life."

"Rachel you wouldn't be…"

"Jesse please I think that we need this. I've thought about it and I am going to stick with that old saying that if you love something you should let it go, and Jesse I love you so much that I am willing to go through this pain for you."

Rachel's voice cracks on the last word and Jesse pulls her into his arms. The two sit by the pool with tears running down their faces.

"I won't give up on us." Jesse whispers as he gives Rachel one last kiss after dropping her off at her home.

That's the last time the two of them see each other before Jesse leaves for NYU. He doesn't leave without saying goodbye. He and Rachel talk well into the early hours of the morning of his flight; they both knew that it would be too hard to see each other after their last face to face conversation. Rachel cries on the phone and Jesse comforts her, Jesse tells her about his nerves and fears and she reminds him that Jesse St. James doesn't get nervous. Before saying goodbye Rachel makes Jesse promise to email at least twice a week and Jesse makes her promise to keep uploading videos of her singing and they both agree that they will talk either through Skype or on the phone at least once a week.

September passes by in a blur for Jesse. He has submerged himself in the New York theatre scene, into his acting classes and even into his regular studies. He also finds himself with a new set of friends and he goes out to party on most weekends. Its fun and it's liberating, and though girls throw themselves at him, Jesse never once gives into the temptation.

October is much the same with the partying and the girls, but school demands also pick up and Jesse finds himself thankful for all the years of VA training to help him power through even though his mind and body scream of exhaustion.

October also brings the family out from Ohio. The first weekend is his parents and they mix visiting their son with a side of business. Jesse is overjoyed at his parents' visit that he doesn't notice over the course of their dinner neither of them has gotten in a word. His parents though are proud of him that they let him carry on talking.

The second family visit is from Will. He comes with news from McKinley. He tells Jesse that all the glee club members say 'hi' and that they demand a visit when he is home for Thanksgiving. Will also thanks Jesse for all the emails.

"I can't express in words how proud I am of you Jesse. I know I can't take credit for most of it, but knowing that my son has become an intelligent and talented young man is more than anything that I could have asked for."

"Thanks Will."

The rest of Will's visit consists of Jesse showing his father the school, going out for dinner and even catching a New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game. Before Will leaves to go back to Lima Jesse invites Will to join him and his family for Thanksgiving weekend. Will says that he would have to check his own family's plans, and if he can't make it the two of them could get together for a small dinner. Jesse hugs Will goodbye before the teacher and father drive off back to Ohio. Only one topic wasn't breached between the two men and that was Rachel.

Both Rachel and Jesse kept their promises of emailing, talking, and posting videos. It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving weekend and Jesse was listening to Rachel talk about the glee club.

"… and then Kurt and Quinn led the group in a great performance." Rachel tells Jesse. "I love it now that I am not the only one completely invested in the group. I know I've said it before but it bears repeating."

"I know Rachel and like I said last time it's because they see now that show choir is more than just a group singing songs, it creates family, it creates belonging and they see it as a way for them to get out of Lima." Jesse responds to the familiar comment. "So how are my kids? Are they treating you as great as they treated me?"

Rachel had taken over Jesse's role as coach, he had set it up for her to share her talent and for something else that looked good on her transcript.

"They are great. They have been performing some exciting numbers and I would have sent you a rehearsal video, but they want to surprise you next time you come to visit."

"That's good. So how are your dads?"

"They are wonderful. They've asked about you and they hope that you come to visit during Thanksgiving, next weekend."

"Tell them I say hi." Jesse says, "Oh hang on."

Rachel hears Jesse's muffled voice and a few cheers. Rachel feels a twinge of jealousy that Jesse is most likely going out tonight. She knows that he has been going out and partying and she wants him to, but she can't help but feel that sadness that when he's out he will forget about her.

"Sorry Rach. I know that we usually talk longer, but would mind if I cut it a little short? The guys are here and they want to go out."

"Yeah it's fine Jesse. Have fun tonight."

"I will. I'll see you next weekend. Love you, bye."

Jesse hangs up the phone and grabs his jacket. Going out on Saturday nights has been fun, but he unlike his friends never finds himself glued to a scantily clad girl or bringing home a tipsy girl for a little fun. He loves Rachel and that's all there is to it, even if they are on a break, Jesse won't and hasn't felt an attraction to any girl that he has met. Mostly because none of them are the obsessive, talkative, petite, beautiful brunette that holds his heart in Lima.

Jesse knows exactly what he's going to do when he's home next weekend.

*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

"Thanks for having me for dinner. It was great to meet your parents. I guess this was a little awkward for them." Jesse says as he dries the dishes that Will hands to him.

"They understood and my dad was the one that wanted to meet you. He actually wanted to meet you immediately after you told me that I was your father, but I thought that was a little too soon for you." Will responds.

"It probably would have been, but I'm glad to have met them and getting to know a little more about you as a teenager was nice."

Jesse puts away the last of the dishes and sits down at the table in the kitchen and Will turns from the sink and leans against the counter.

"So have you seen Rachel yet?"

"No, I haven't stopped by her place yet. I think I might surprise her tomorrow."

"I think she'll really like that. She really hasn't been the same since you left. I think sometimes she's worried that you won't ever come back." Jesse looks up and gives Will a strange look. "I know she might not sound like that on the phone but I've seen her face and heard her voice, she has this sadness at times."

"She always sounds so happy on the phone? In her emails?"

"Yeah and so do you, but I saw it last time I visited, you had that same sadness. You two want each other to be happy that you cover up what you are really feeling."

"That's not true; we are honest with each other." Jesse says and Will shoots him a questioning look. "Ok I guess we don't necessarily fill each other in on the whole truth, but I didn't want her to worry about me and I mean she was the one that wanted to break it off."

"I figured, but I think you two need to have a talk about your future. Because I think that if the two of you don't you could be losing more than you know."

Jesse smiles, "I think I'll take you up on that advice."

Jesse stays for a while longer before saying goodnight to Will and promising to stop by before going back to school.

Jesse knocks on the Berry's door. He's greeted by Rachel's father and asks to speak to Rachel. He's lets Jesse upstairs, knowing that he will have time to speak to the young boy about school later.

Rachel hears a knock on her door and gets out of bed figuring it's one of her dads saying goodnight. She pulls open the door and lets out a squeal of joy before being wrapped up in Jesse's embrace.

"You're here." She whispers in his ear.

Jesse sets her down, but doesn't let her go. He can't, it's impossible for him to break the connection with her. So he does the only thing that makes sense. He threads his fingers through her hair and leans in a kisses her.

He kisses her with the passion of his love, the sadness that has been part of him since she let him go and the joy at seeing her again after three months. Rachel returns the kiss with all the same sentiments.

It's finally broken off when both require air. Nothing is said as Rachel leads Jesse into the room closing the door behind him. He takes his spot on her bed and she snuggles in beside him.

"Hi," he whispers.

"Hello."

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"Three months?" Rachel guesses, "I know I've wanted to do it for that long too."

Jesse drops a kiss to the top of Rachel's head. "Why did you let me know how sad you were?"

"Because you sounded so happy, I didn't want you to think I was holding you back."

"Nothing you would have said would have held me back. And I wasn't always that happy, I was only doing that because I thought that would make you happy."

"We're idiots."

"Yeah we are. And the only thing that will fix that is if we get back together Rach." Jesse says, sitting up and turning Rachel so she is facing him. "I know that you want me to go out and have the college experience Rachel, but I can do that and still have you. And that is all that I really want Rach, you."

Rachel's eyes well with tears. "That's all I want too." Rachel couldn't deny that breaking up with Jesse was that dumbest thing she had ever done and that she should have told Jesse that she wanted to get back together earlier.

Jesse leans in for another kiss, before laying the two of them down on Rachel's bed. The pair talks well into the night and fall asleep in each other's arms, back where they belong.

Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee*Glee

Jesse goes back to Tisch and succeeds in his classes. He makes his name known around the school for his dramatic acting as well as his skills in musical theatre. Going into his third year he has already secured the lead in two shows at the school. He can't wait to finally share his love of the school and the city when Rachel joins him in the fall. Jesse is very excited that Rachel is going to be moving in with him, which took a lot less convincing than he thought it would.

Rachel counts down her time left at McKinley. With the exception of the two national titles that she helps New Directions win in her junior and senior years, Rachel finds no excitement in anything at the school. All her joy comes from coaching the kids' choir, enjoying the friendships she's formed with the members of the glee club and of course any and all time spent with Jesse St. James. Which between the summer of 12th grade and first year is spent partially packing up Rachel's room so she can move in with Jesse.

Will and Jesse's relationship has only grown stronger. Unlike some relationships between parents and children Jesse and Will are lucky that their relationship was built on a foundation of friendship and earned respect, it has made them closer. The pair has become so close that Jesse on occasion refers to Will as 'Dad'.

Though things happened in the way that they did, with searching, spying and falling in love, the truth is Jesse St. James wouldn't have had it any other way.


End file.
